SABAH PORTS, DP WORLD TIE-UP TO BOOST SABAH'S POSITION AS TRANSHIPMENT HUB -- CM

KOTA KINABALU, April 24 (Bernama) -- The strategic collaboration between Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd (SPSB) and DP World, a global port terminal operator, will be a boon to Sabah’s aspiration to promote the Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP) as a key transhipment hub in the region, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

He said that in the long run, the vision was to improve landside and seaside connectivity throughout the state, thereby reducing the transit cost and time besides improving performance standards across the state’s entire supply chain.

“I am happy that DP World has chosen Sabah to expand its business, and I invite the company to look into other potential economic areas in Sabah,” Hajiji said in a statement after meeting with Dubai-based DP World chairman and group chief executive officer Sultan Ahmed Sulayem at the sidelines of the State Assembly sitting today.

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Meanwhile, Sultan Ahmed said DP World had been in negotiation to enter into a business collaboration with SPSB.

“Sabah is a beautiful state and located strategically to become a logistic hub in this region,” he said, adding that DP World has chosen Sabah because of its stability, which is conducive to investments.

Sultan Ahmed said he would do his best to use his Fortune 500 connections to bring businesses to the state. 

SPSB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suria Capital Holdings Bhd, of which the Sabah state government is a majority shareholder, operates eight terminals, namely SBCP, Sapangar Bay Oil Terminal, Kota Kinabalu Port, Kudat Port, Sandakan Port, Lahad Datu Port and Kunak Port.

The state government gave approval for the collaboration with DP World for the operation and management of SBCP on Jan 4 last year.

DP World has a network of more than 60 ports and terminals with the capacity to handle over 90 million twenty-foot equivalent units a year and across the world.

-- BERNAMA