PORT Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) revealed a new logo on Nov 28 to refresh its image, symbolising a renewed commitment to making the initiative a national success story.

The new logo constitutes three green waves, symbolising PKFZ’s connection to the surrounding maritime ports and each representing the key benefits of Speed, Integration and Connection. Forming a circle, the logo’s shape represents continuous trade, global reach and endless connections.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, who unveiled the logo, said `the new logo is about the opening of a new chapter for PKFZ. It’s about change, about adapting to a dynamic business environment.’

Since its opening in November last year, 39 companies involved in manufacturing, distribution of equipment and parts for various industries, trading and logistics have invested RM729 million in PKFZ, generating 888 job opportunities. PKFZ is in further negotiations with 55 companies with a potential investment value of RM610 million. This is targeted to be achieved by the end of 2008 and is expected to create some 20,000 new jobs.

Ifeanyi Mbah, technical adviser to the Nigerian commerce and Industry minister, was recently in Malaysia to meet with the management of Port Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd to discuss a turnkey free zone project in Nigeria with the possibility of PKFZ offering management consultancy for the project.

Although a number of free zones already exist in Nigeria, the proposed turnkey project would be a new development, which once operational and successful, could be emulated by the existing privately-owned free zones across the country.

The Nigerian government expects to invest some US$1 billion (US$1 = RM3.36) in the project and expects construction to begin by the end of 2008.

Mbah said the Nigerian Federal Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles C. Ugwuh, was impressed with the PKFZ concept when the latter visited Malaysia in September this year.

“The Nigerian government has a new integrated industrial development strategy which involves clustering economic activities to accelerate the economic growth of the country.

“The minister believes PKFZ’s integrated free zone model is perfect for Nigeria because it provides industrial and commercial activities with value-add opportunities which will generate enormous growth and wealth,” Mbah said in a statement yesterday.

“The PKFZ model is interesting to us because it is unlike the conventional free zone solution. It focuses on manufacturers who wish to grow their business rather than have a trading focus,” Mbah added.

PKFZ general manager of business development Chia Kon Leong said PKFZ’s management is considering the request for management consultancy in the Nigerian project.

“It is encouraging to note that the PKFZ model has caught the attention of the Nigerian government and the management will be willing to share their experience and expertise,” Chia said.

PKFZ has been operational since November 2006. It provides a total of 450ha, of which 259.2ha are open land lots, 512 light industrial units, 500,000 sq ft office space, a business-class hotel and an exhibition centre.

PKFZ has so far attracted 39 companies with investments worth RM729 million.

“The life span of the project is long enough, between 50 and 60 years, but definitely we won’t take that long (to repay the loan),” Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said after the launch of the free zone’s new logo in Subang yesterday.

He said his confidence was bolstered by the fact that in such a short period, PKFZ has managed to bring in 39 investors who have invested RM729 million in the free zone so far.

“In my mind, the controversies surrounding PKFZ have been resolved and it is now time to move on and not talk about the past,” Chan said.

He said in his speech during the launching ceremony that PKFZ is a bold and visionary concept and the government is committed to making PKFZ a success.

PKFZ chairman and Port Klang Authority general manager O.C. Phang said the new logo is to comply with intellectual property rights laws, with the withdrawal of Jebel Ali Free Zone from the project, and to reflect the new management vision for the free zone.

PKFZ also signed agreements with EFE Expo Sdn Bhd and the Small and Medium Industry Association Malaysia.

Under the agreements, EFE Expo is committed to taking up a 200,000 sq ft commercial space in PKFZ and the SMI Association agreed to jointly promote the free zone among its members.

EFE Expo is a Johor-based company which manages the annual export furniture exhibition for the Malaysia Furniture Entrepreneur Association.

Meanwhile, Chan said the government is close to awarding the Ipoh-Padang Besar double-track railway project. He declined to elaborate further.

Market talk values the project at close to RM15 billion.

Beliau berkata, konsep pembangunan PKFZ membabitkan tiga matlamat utama iaitu sebagai hab perkilangan, perdagangan dan pengedaran di Asia; pemangkin kepada pembangunan Pelabuhan Klang secara keseluruhannya; selain menarik pelaburan langsung asing dan membuka lebih banyak peluang pekerjaan kepada rakyat tempatan.

“PKFZ menguasai 30.8 hektar kawasan terbuka di zon bebas itu dengan opsyen mengambil tambahan 37.2 hektar lagi tahun depan, 20 unit industri ringan dan keluasan pejabat lebih 6,000 kaki persegi.

“Perniagaan berdasarkan TEU (unit bersamaan 20 kaki) pula meningkat kepada 1,111 TEU setakat ini berbanding hanya 67 TEU pada Mei lalu,” katanya.

Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Sri Chan Kong Choy, berkata semua syarikat terbabit menguasai 30.8 hektar kawasan terbuka di zon bebas itu dengan opsyen mengambil tambahan 37.2 hektar lagi tahun depan, 20 unit industri ringan dan keluasan pejabat lebih 6,000 kaki persegi.

Katanya, perniagaan berdasarkan TEU (unit bersamaan 20 kaki) pula meningkat kepada 1,111 TEU setakat ini, berbanding hanya 67 TEU, Mei lalu.

“Selain itu, PKFZ sedang berunding dengan 55 syarikat dari dalam dan luar negara, termasuk beberapa multinasional dengan potensi pelaburan RM610 juta, yang disasar dicapai menjelang akhir tahun depan,” katanya sambil menambah pelaburan itu bakal menyediakan 20,000 peluang pekerjaan baru.

Beliau berkata demikian pada majlis pelancaran logo baru PKFZ di Subang Jaya, semalam.

Pada majlis itu, PKFZ turut memeterai dua memorandum persefahaman (MoU), masing-masing dengan EFE Expo Sdn Bhd dan Persatuan Industri Kecil dan Sederhana Malaysia (SMI).

Menerusi MoU itu, EFE Expo akan menyewa keseluruhan blok LOB4 di zon bebas itu untuk dijadikan bilik pameran, selain mengadakan Pameran Perabot Eksport di Pusat Pameran PKFZ, Mac tahun depan.

Chan berkata, konsep pembangunan PKFZ membabitkan tiga matlamat utama iaitu sebagai hab perkilangan, perdagangan dan pengedaran di Asia; pemangkin kepada pembangunan Pelabuhan Klang secara keseluruhannya; selain menarik pelaburan langsung asing dan membuka lebih banyak peluang pekerjaan kepada rakyat tempatan.

MCA Deputy President and Transport Minister, Datuk Chan Kong Choy has confirmed that he is a Minister-on-the-run from his sheer inability to answer five simplified questions on the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal in Parliament yesterday.

When moving a RM10 salary-cut motion for the Transport Minister yesterday, I tried to make things easy for Chan by reducing the public furore over the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal into five simplified questions, viz:

1. Was it true that when the Port Klang Authority and the Transport Ministry insisted on buying the 1,000 acres of Pulau Indah land for PKFZ at RM25 psf on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, in the face of strong objection by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Treasury which had recommended that the land be acquired at RM10 psf, the Cabinet had given its approval subject to two conditions: (i) categorical assurance by the Transport Minister that the PKFZ proposal was feasible and self-financing and would not require any public funding; and (ii) that every RM100 million variation in the development costs of PKFZ would require prior Cabinet approval.

2. In the event, the first condition was breached when the PKFZ project ballooned from RM1.1 billion to RM4.6 billion requiring government intervention and bailout while the second condition was breached with the original PKFZ development costs of RM400 million ballooning to RM2.8 billion without any prior Cabinet approval ever been sought for every RM100 million increase in development costs.

3. The Transport Minister had unlawfully issued four Letters of Support to Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSB), the PKFZ turnkey contractor — to raise RM4 billion bonds, which were regarded as government guarantees by the market. The Transport Minister had no such powers to issue financial guarantees committing the government, as it could only be issued by the Finance Minister and only after Cabinet approval. The first Letter of Support was issued by the former Transport Minister, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik on May 28, 2003, which was Liong Sik’s last day as Transport Minister while the other three were issued by Kong Choy.

4. Whether it wasn’t true that in recognition that the four unlawful “Letters of Support” of the Transport Minister had nonetheless given implicit government guarantee to the market that the Cabinet had in mid-year to give retrospective approval for the unlawful and unauthorized four Letters of Support by the Transport Ministers in the past four years creating RM4.6 billion liability for the government in the bailout of PKFZ.

5. Why no action had been taken against the Transport Minister, both Liong Sik and Kong Choy, as well as the government officials responsible for the unlawful issue of the four “Letters of Support”. Kong Choy had said that he did not know that he had no power as Transport Minister to issue such Letters of Support. Was this acceptable explanation for getting the government embroiled in the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal?

After each question, I specifically asked Chan to give a “yes or not” answer — to deny if the facts I had mentioned were untrue, and to explain and justify what he and the government had done if what I had said was undisputed and true.

In his reply, Chan completely ignored the five simplified questions on the core issues of the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal, as well as other questions which I had posed, including:

• How Chan could claim that he did not know that as Transport Minister he did not have the powers to issue Letters of Support which were tantamount to government guarantees in the issue of RM4 billion bonds by Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd, as only the Finance Minister had such powers and also after getting prior approval by the Cabinet. How can Chan claim ignorance of this important financial principle when Chan had been Deputy Finance Minister for close to four years from Dec. 1999 to June 2003? Did Chan completely waste his close to four years as Deputy Finance Minister and learnt nothing?

• Why Chan did not seek the advice of the Legal Adviser of the Ministry of Transport on whether he had the authority and powers to sign the Letters of Support but relied instead on advisers from outside the Ministry?
• Why for more than three years from May 2003 to December 2006, the Finance Ministry was in the dark and completely unaware that four unauthorized Letters of Support involving RM4 billion bonds had been issued by the Transport Minister as it was only in December 2006 that the Treasury was informed by the lead arranger for the bonds that such Letters of Support had been issued by the Transport Minister and that they constituted government guarantees for the bond issues? Isn’t this shocking evidence of a shambolic government, with the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing?

Chan spent all his time in his reply yesterday claiming that he was not running away from Parliament by going to London to attend the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) assembly, explaining how important it was for Malaysia.

I have no objections to Chan attending the IMO Assembly in London, but it cannot be used as an excuse for him to run away from his responsibility to be in Parliament to account for the biggest financial scandal in the Abdullah premiership — the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal – which comes directly under his portfolio.

It was because I had publicly protested that Chan would not be present in Parliament to face my censure motion against him in the form of the RM10 salary cut motion over the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal if the 2008 Budget committee stage debate on his Ministry had come up as originally scheduled last Thursday that the debate on the Transport Ministry was postponed till yesterday.

However, although Chan was shamed into making his personal appearance in Parliament during the RM10 salary cut of his Minister’s pay by postponing the debate until his return from London, he remained a Minister-on-the run in his refusal to give any answer to the five simplified questions or other issues relating to the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal.

As I said in Parliament yesterday, when Chan refused to give way for any clarification during his reply, with Chan in Parliament back from London, he is not on-the-run physically, but he continues to be on-the-run intellectually on the PKFZ scandal, continuing his prevarication and evasion of the many pertinent issues concerned.

This is a most shameful parliamentary performance for a Minister who is also No. 2 of MCA.

On the very first day of the current 45-day budget parliamentary session from August 27 to December 19, 2007, I had highlighted the scandal of the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone bailout in an emergency motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 18(1) for a debate on an issue of urgent, definite public importance as there had been no proper accountability to Parliament whether by the Transport Minister or Finance Minister despite the various exposes in the public domain, such as

• Hanky-panky in the purchase of the 1,000 acres for the PKFZ, despite objections by the Finance Ministry and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

• Mismanagement resulting in the pull-out of Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone (Jafza) from the project, which could become a “white elephant”.
• Questionable cost-overruns of the PKFZ, ballooning to RM4.63 billion from the original estimate of RM1.1 billion.
• The unlawful and unauthorized Transport Ministry issue of four “letters of support” which were used by the turnkey contractor – Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) – to raise RM4.6 billion bonds and get an AAA rating from the Malaysia Rating Corporation Bhd. for the PKFZ project.
• Why the government and the 26 million Malaysians must now bear responsibility for a RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout despite earlier assurances that the PKFZ project would be feasible, self-financing and would not involve a single ringgit of public funds.
• Why the Prime Minister is breaching his undertaking of no bailout of mega-billion-ringgit “white elephant” projects — with the PKFZ bailout set to be the biggest financial scandal at the beginning of any Prime Minister.

However, my emergency motion on the first day of the current meeting of Parliament was rejected by the Speaker, Tan Sri Ramli Ngah as not urgent.

Since then, for the past three months, I had repeatedly sought to demand government accountability for the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal but to no avail, as I came up against the wall of prevarication and evasion, with the ball kicked from one Ministry to another, namely the Transport Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Prime Minister’s Department. Nobody wanted wanting to give a proper answer or accept accountability, with everyone either falsely claiming that it had already been answered or would be answered by another Ministry.

I had raised the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal during the policy and committee stages of the debate on the 2007 Supplementary Estimates and the 2008 Budget but Parliament and the nation have still to get satisfactory answers.

When I raised the issue during the 2008 Budget committee stage debate on the Prime Minister’s Department, the Minister concerned, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said questions on the PKFZ scandal should rightly be answered by the Transport Minister.

When I again raised the issue three Mondays ago during the committee stage of the debate on the Finance Ministry, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Finance Ministry, Datuk Seri Dr. Hilmi Yahya said he would answer by way of written reply. I asked for the written answer to be given within a week. Hilmi was non-committal. More than two weeks have passed and I am still waiting. What has Hilmi got to hide about the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal?

It was precisely because of this record and background of prevarication and evasion of accountability that I strongly protested last week at a “government-on-the-run” when the Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy left for London to attend the 25th International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Assembly, which would mean another escape-act by the Minister from parliamentary responsibility and accountability over the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal as the Transport Ministry was scheduled to be debated last Thursday.

At least the protest achieved the effect of ensuring that the Transport Ministry committee stage debate is put off from last week till today to enable the Minister to be back from London to come to Parliament to assume responsibility and accountability for his Ministerial portfolios.

I hope this will be the end of prevarications and evasions and a government on-the-run on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal.

I had in fact simplified the many questions on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal which cry out for answer to five major ones, viz:

1. Was it true that when the Port Klang Authority and the Transport Ministry insisted on buying the 1,000 acres of Pulau Indah land for PKFZ at RM25 psf on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis, in the face of strong objection by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Treasury which had recommended that the land be acquired at RM10 psf, the Cabinet had given its approval subject to two conditions: (i) categorical assurance by the Transport Minister that the PKFZ proposal was feasible and self-financing and would not require any public funding; and (ii) that every RM100 million variation in the development costs of PKFZ would require prior Cabinet approval.

2. In the event, the first condition was breached when the PKFZ project ballooned from RM1.1 billion to RM4.6 billion requiring government intervention and bailout while the second condition was breached with the original PKFZ development costs of RM400 million ballooning to RM2.8 billion without any prior Cabinet approval ever been sought for every RM100 million increase in development costs.

3. The Transport Minister had unlawfully issued four Letters of Support to Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSB), the PKFZ turnkey contractor — to raise RM4 billion bonds, which were regarded as government guarantees by the market. The Transport Minister had no such powers to issue financial guarantees committing the government, as it could only be issued by the Finance Minister and only after Cabinet approval. The first Letter of Support was issued by the former Transport Minister, Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik on May 28, 2003, which was Liong Sik’s last day as Transport Minister while the other three were issued by Kong Choy.

4. Whether it wasn’t true that in recognition that the four unlawful “Letters of Support” of the Transport Minister had nonetheless given implicit government guarantee to the market that the Cabinet had in mid-year to give retrospective approval for the unlawful and unauthorized four Letters of Support by the Transport Ministers in the past four years creating RM4.6 billion liability for the government in the bailout of PKFZ.

5. Why no action had been taken against the Transport Minister, both Liong Sik and Kong Choy, as well as the government officials responsible for the unlawful issue of the four “Letters of Support”. Kong Choy had said that he did not know that he had no power as Transport Minister to issue such Letters of Support. Was this acceptable explanation for getting the government embroiled in the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal?

I have raised these questions of accountability, integrity and good governance many times in the current meeting of Parliament, but I have not been able to get any clear-cut answers.

Why is it impossible for the Transport Minister to give a simple “yes or no” answer to these questions if he has nothing to hide in the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal?

The time has come not only for the Transport Minister but also for the Prime Minister to end the conspiracy of denial-cum-silence about the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout as the largest financial scandal at the start of any Prime Minister in Malaysia — even bigger than the RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF) scandal which led off the Mahathir premiership more than two decades ago.

If the Mahathir premiership could appoint a three-man Ahmad Nordin public inquiry into the RM2.5 billion BMF scandal, why is Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi not prepared to “walk the talk” of his pledge to lead a clean, incorruptible, accountable, transparent, trustworthy and responsible administration by establishing a public inquiry into the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal?

There should be a public inquiry to find out who had been the beneficiaries of the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal – whether personalities from MCA, Umno as well as the BN MP for Bintulu, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

The issue of four “letters of support” by the Transport Minister for the RM3.8 billion bonds issued by KDSB, which were regarded as government guarantees, resulting in 3A ratings by Malaysia Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) remains unanswered.

This is unlawful and gross abuse of power as only the Cabinet can authorize such government guarantee for bonds and which can only be issued by the Finance Ministry. The four letters of support had never been authorized by the Cabinet.

The first letter of support was issued by the former Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ling Liong Sik and the three others by Chan Kong Choy.

I had challenge any Cabinet Minister to deny that it was precisely because the government accepts that the Transport Minister’s “letters of support” were tantamount to government guarantees for KDSB’s RM4.6 billion bonds that the the Cabinet has recently given retrospective approval to the unauthorized government guarantees to the KDSB bonds based on the four letters of support of the Transport Minister.

As a result, the Cabinet also approved the RM4.6 billion bailout of the PKFZ scandal.

The even more question is why no punitive action had been taken against the Transport Minister concerned who had unlawfully issued letters of support for KDSB’s RM4.6 billion bonds, which have forced the Cabinet to give them retrospective approval and the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout.

The first letter of support for the first issue of RM1.31 billion bonds by KDSB was issued by the former Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ling Liong Sik on May 28, 2003 which was his last day as Transport Minister before going on a month’s leave and resignation.

Was the signing of the unlawful letter of support fror KDSB’s first issue of RM1.31 billion bonds Ling’s last act as Transport Minister? This raises grave questions about propriety and integrity of Ling in his last day in office as Transport Minister which must be thoroughly investigated.

Why has Liong Sik not been investigated and charged in court for gross abuse of power in his last day as Transport Minister, starting the process resulting in the RM4.6 billion PKFZ bailout scandal?

The same question applies to Kong Choy. Is it acceptable that he did not know as Transport Minister that he did not have the power to issue such Letters of Support, which could only be made by the Finance Minister and after approval by Cabinet?

There is no better answer than the one given by one poster on my blog, Jeffrey, as follows:

“No, it is not acceptable. A Minister cannot plead ignorance regarding what he is authorised or not authorised to do as an excuse — and yet claim he is not half past six.

“It is ironical that if a bank officer exceeds his authority in a loan approval by a few hundred thousand Ringgit he can be prosecuted under Banking and Financial Institutional Act for jeopardizing public funds but where a minister exceeded his authority committing public funds measured in terms of billions of Ringgit he is not only not held accountable but the government ratified his unauthorized acts.”

There is another reason why it is completely unacceptable for Kong Choy to plead ignorance, for he was the Deputy Finance Minister for close to four years from Dec. 1999 to June 2003, before he was elevated as Transport Minister.

I am moving a RM10 cut motion not only because of the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal, Chan’s role as Transport Minister but also for the long record of prevarication and evasion of accountability and responsibility.

[Speech on the RM10 salary-cut motion for the Transport Minister, Chan Kong Choy, over the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) bailout scandal in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday, 27th November 2007]

THE Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) in Pulau Indah, a project that had drawn criticism from the public over its ballooning cost overruns, has made significant progress in the last four months, having attracted 39 companies into the zone with total investments of RM729 million.

“The pace of investments into PKFZ has accelerated in the past four months.

“We believe the pick-up rate will be faster from the second year of operations,” Port Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd (PKFZSB) general manager of business development, Chia Kon Leong, said last Friday.

Chia is part of a new management team of locals appointed by the Port Klang Authority (PKA), which owns PKFZ, to manage and market the RM4.6 billion free zone, following the pull-out of Dubai-based Jafza International from the project in July this year.

It was reported that the fallout between PKA and Jafza was partly due to the latter’s slow progress in attracting investments into PKFZ since the project’s soft launch in November last year.

Asked when PKFZ can expect to recoup its RM4.6 billion project costs, Chia said it is considered a national project.

“The prospects of getting RM5 billion to RM6 billion worth of investments coming, creating 25,000 to 30,000 employment opportunities (upon full development) and sustaining the competitiveness of Port Klang so that main line operators will continue to call and shippers do not have to pay higher freight charges …. how do you quantify all these to equate it with the RM4.6 billion (spent to develop PKFZ)?” he asked.

He likened the project to the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.

“Who built KLIA? Who runs KLIA today? Is Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd going to pay back what the Government spent to build the airport? So can we be given the same condition? It should be looked at in the same way,” he said.

Covering 405ha, PKFZ offers 298.4ha of open land for long-term, 512 pre-built light industrial units and 4,628sq ft of office space in its business complex.

Chia said so far 12 companies have agreed to take up 31.19ha, representing 12 per cent of the open land in the zone. They have an option to lease another 37.67ha, or 15 per cent of the open land within the next 12 months.

“Aker Kvaerner from Norway is now the biggest investor in PKFZ, investing about RM400 million and leasing 28ha of the open land to build its factory.

“As for the light industrial units, 20 tenants have taken up 25 units for trading, light manufacturing and logistics businesses,” he added.

The types of investments PKFZ is looking at are in the fields of trading, manufacturing and logistics in all sectors including automotive, heavy industries, oil and gas, electronics, food, among others.

Talks are being held with 55 other potential investors with investments worth RM610 million, including three logistics companies.

“We are talking to three companies which have plans to set up a logistics hub within the free zone to do warehousing, distribution, container storage and full container loads (FCLs) or less than container loads (LCLs) activities.

“They comprise an international shipping line, a regional shipping line and a full service logistics provider,” he said.

To facilitate and fast-track the development of logistics services, PKFZ has set up a common user container freight station (CFS) in the zone similar to that of Northport and Westports.

“This CFS is not intended to compete with Northport or Westports for business but rather to facilitate trade. We look at Port Klang as a seamless environment, consisting of Northport, Westports and PKFZ.

“We will be working closely together to complement each other in order to grow the cake,” said Chia.

He also allayed fears of a price war among free trade zone operators in the country.

“In terms of rates offered among free zones in Port Klang, we have not dropped one sen from what they (Westports and Northport) are offering. If there’s any competition, let’s compete on service,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chia said PKFZ remains unfazed over the recent negative media coverage of the project; although he admits that it faces an uphill battle to get people to see that it will not be a white elephant.

PKFZ aims to be self-sustaining in 2010 when it is targeted to generate a revenue of RM40 million and an operating surplus of RM22 million.

Operator of hotel, expo centre identified.

PORT Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd (PKFZSB), the manager and marketer of the RM4.6 billion free zone in Pulau Indah, said it has identified a local hotel group to manage and operate the four-star hotel and exhibition centre in the zone.

The 135-room hotel and exhibition centre is expected to be completed by the end of next month and open for business before the end of the first quarter next year.

“The company is a local but reputable hotel operator.

“We should be announcing its name soon,” Port Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd general manager of business development Chia Kon Leong said.

Apart from the hotel and exhibition centre, PKFZ offers 298.4ha of open land for long-term, 512 pre-built light industrial units and 4,628sq ft of office space in its business complex.

Chia said the PKFZ project will be fully completed by the end of this year to coincide with the completion of the main access road into the zone.

The flyover bridge to neighbouring Westports, meanwhile, will be completed by the first quarter of next year.

SYARIKAT asing hanya mengambil masa kurang seminggu untuk menyelesaikan pelbagai urusan bagi memulakan operasi di Zon Bebas Pelabuhan Klang (PKFZ), sekali gus menolak dakwaan pihak tertentu bahawa urusan memulakan operasi di zon bebas itu membabitkan banyak birokrasi.

Pengalaman itu dialami dan diakui sendiri pengarah syarikat pembekal peralatan paip untuk industri minyak dan gas, KGT yang berpangkalan di Dubai, minggu lalu.

“Dalam masa enam hari segala-galanya siap… pejabat berdaftar dengan talian telefon dan faksimili serta akaun bank. Malah, saya juga mendapat satu set kad perniagaan juga siap tertera nama KGT Sdn Bhd.

“Adalah mudah untuk berniaga di PKFZ. Cuma pengkhabaran ini belum tersebar luas ke dunia luar,” kata Heidar Jouyaeyan dalam satu temu bual di Pulau Indah, Jumaat lalu.

Hadir sama Pengurus Besar Pembangunan Perniagaan Port Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd, Chia Kon Leong, serta Pengurus Besar Pemasaran dan Komunikasi Korporatnya, Helen How Mei Leng.

Jouyaeyan berkata, kakitangan syarikat itu dari Dubai akan ditempatkan ke PKFZ dua minggu lagi.

Katanya, KGT memerlukan tapak perniagaan di rantau ini, susulan peningkatan permintaan terhadap peralatan paip minyak dan gas di Asia Barat, memandangkan satu daripada pembekal utamanya berpangkalan di Jepun.

Selain Malaysia, beliau berkata, syarikat juga meninjau untuk bertapak di kawasan berhampiran Jepun, khususnya China, tetapi akhirnya memilih PKFZ.

“Salah satu faktor pendorong ialah kami melihat kejujuran dan komitmen tinggi yang ditunjukkan kakitangan pengendali PKFZ…Kejujuran amat penting bagi orang Arab,” katanya.

Mengenai Zon Bebas Jafza di Dubai, Jouyaeyan berkata ia sudah menjadi terlalu kompetitif berdasarkan senarai menunggu yang panjang untuk memulakan perniagaan di sana.

Sementara itu, Chia berkata, walaupun hanya memulakan operasi 1 November tahun lalu, PKFZ berjaya menarik 39 pelabur dengan nilai pelaburan RM729 juta dan menawarkan 888 peluang pekerjaan.

Pelabur terbesar ialah Aker Kvaerner, pengeluar peralatan laut dalam dengan pelaburan kira-kira RM400 juta.

Beliau berkata, indeks prestasi utama (KPI) PKFZ memberi sasaran mampu berdikari selepas tiga tahun beroperasi dengan menjana pendapatan RM40
juta setahun dan melebihi operasi sekitar RM22 juta.

“Sasaran kami ialah 80 peratus kawasan di PKFZ seluas 400 hektar akan dihuni dalam tempoh lima tahun dengan pendapatan tahunan RM88 juta,” katanya.