He will serve a two-year term beginning June 23 2008. Lim replaces Datin Paduka O.C. Phang who had tendered her resignation on the same day.

PKA chairman Lee Hwa Beng said unlike Phang, Lim will have executive powers and will be the focal point for matters relating to PKFZ.

Lim said with his appointment, PKFZ will no longer be searching for a suitable person to fill the managing director post left by Noel Gulliver William, who returned to Jafza International in April last year.

Gulliver was seconded by Jafza International to PKFZ in 2006 to establish its mega distribution park. However, Jafza pulled out of a 15-year contract to manage the free zone in July 2007.

“I am reviewing all the activities at PKFZ to make it attractive (for investors) as well as to get all facilities ready,” Lim said, adding that the main access road into PKFZ will be completed by the end of next month.

LIM Thean Shiang is tipped to become the new general manager of Port Klang Authority (PKA), replacing Datin Paduka O.C. Phang who has not been offered an extension to her contract, which runs out in June.

Lim is slated to take over the helm of PKA, the regulator of Northport and Westports, from June 6 2008.

Little is known of the man, except that he is currently a board member of PKA.

“It is understood that the Transport Minister is positioning Lim as general manager designate for a year or so to assist in realigning the management and directions of PKA,” Century Logistics Holdings Bhd deputy managing director Dr Mohamed Amin Kassim told Business Times.

Another industry source said PKA assistant general manager (regulatory) Captain David Rajan Padman is emerging as a favourite to succeed Lim, given his experience at PKA.

“Captain David is considered most promising to succeed Lim, as the former is most qualified and capable,” said the source, who declined to be named.

Lim’s appointment comes on the heels of former Subang Jaya assemblyman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng’s appointment as chairman of PKA from April 1 2008 by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

Phang has been general manager of PKA since September 1997.

She was also the first vice-president of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) between 2005 and 2007, the first Malaysian and first woman to attain such a position in the association.

Her election as first vice-president paved the way for the first Malaysian to be elected as IAPH president in mid-2007.

She was also a past chairman of the Asean Ports Association at the regional level and the Asean Ports Association, Malaysian chapter.

Phang was appointed chairman of Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) by the Minister of Transport last year, shortly after Jebel Ali Free Zone, a Dubai-based free zone operator, withdrew from the management concession for the 405ha facility in Pulau Indah, Selangor.

The project is the biggest investment undertaken by PKA since it completed the privatization of all its port services in the 1990s.

However, it has drawn criticism from the public over its ballooning development cost overruns, which amounted to RM4.6 billion from an initial cost of RM1.3 billion.

Pengerusinya, Datin Paduka O C Phang, berkata Zon Halal itu bakal menyediakan ruang industri serta-merta bagi aktiviti pengilangan, pengeluaran dan komersial produk makanan halal serta bukan makanan untuk tujuan eksport atau import ke pasaran tempatan.

Menurutnya, pusat sehenti itu akan mengendalikan kontrak kepada syarikat pelabur yang menawarkan akses kepada perkhidmatan sijil halal dan latihan, pengauditan dan khidmat rundingan berkaitan perkara halal.

“Kedua-dua pihak juga bersetuju memasarkan dan mempromosi zon halal berkenaan kepada pengeluar dan pedagang di peringkat tempatan dan antarabangsa.

“Ia kerjasama berterusan bagi mempromosikan status standard halal Malaysia ke seluruh dunia selain menarik pelaburan asing bagi memajukan industri berkenaan di negara ini,” katanya dalam kenyataan yang dikeluarkan di Kuala Lumpur baru-baru ini.

PORT Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd (PKFZSB), the manager and marketer of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) in Pulau Indah, Selangor, said it is still continuing its search for a managing director vacated by Noel Gulliver William.

The post has been vacant for 10 months, ever since Gulliver’s return to Dubai in April last year.

Gulliver was seconded by Jafza International to PKFZ in 2006 to establish its mega distribution park. However, Jafza pulled out of a 15-year contract to manage the free zone in July 2007.

PKFZSB director Tengku Datuk Zainal Rashid, who participates in the selection process, said the company had recently posted an advertisement for the post after it failed to identify any suitable candidates the first time.

“I have not seen any of the applicants yet, but we are looking for a new managing director,” he told Business Times in an interview.

Tengku Zainal said the post does not necessarily have to be filled by a Malaysian, as long as the candidate “has got the right experience and qualification”.

“We have not established a timeframe, although we would like to fill the post as soon as possible. That’s because in any organisational structure, you need a managing director,” he added.

In the meantime, PKFZSB chairman Datin Paduka O. C. Phang will continue to head the company until the post is filled.

VISKO Industries Sdn Bhd, syarikat usaha sama Taiwan dan Indonesia, melabur RM30 juta bagi pembangunan fasa pertama kilang mengeluar pelekat di Syarikat Taiwan, Indonesia pilih Zon Bebas Pelabuhan Klang (PKFZ).

Pengarah Urusannya, Judi Widjaya Leonardi, berkata kilang seluas 100,000 kaki persegi itu mempunyai keupayaan menghasilkan 30 juta hingga 35 juta meter persegi pelekat sebulan.

Beliau berkata, kilang berkenaan yang dijadualkan beroperasi suku ketiga tahun ini, akan menghasilkan pelekat khusus bagi pasaran serantau.

“Selain kemudahan kelas pertama, kami memilih PKFZ berdasarkan profesionalisme ditunjukkan kakitangannya dalam membantu mempermudahkan proses penubuhan syarikat di zon itu.

“Kami dapati amat mudah berurusan dengan PKFZ, terutama menerusi agensi sehentinya,” katanya pada majlis pecah tanah tapak kilang Visko Industries di PKFZ di Pulau Indah, Pelabuhan Klang, semalam.

Hadir sama Pengurus Besar Lembaga Pelabuhan Klang (LPK), Datin Paduka OC Phang; Pengarah PKFZ, Tan Sri Profesor Dr James Alfred; Pengurus Besar Pembangunan Perniagaan Port Klang Free Zone Sdn Bhd, Chia Kon Leong, serta Pengurus Besar Pemasaran dan Komunikasi Korporatnya, Helen How Mei Leng.

Visko Industries adalah syarikat usaha sama antara Alpha Beta Enterprise Company Ltd berpangkalan di Taiwan dan PT Ekadharma International Tbk dari Indonesia.

Ekadharma memiliki dua kilang mengeluar pelekat di Indonesia dan tiga di Taiwan.

Visko Industries ditubuhkan pada Julai 2007 dan memeterai perjanjian dengan PKFZ September tahun lalu, bagi menyewa kawasan seluas dua hektar dengan opsyen tambahan dua hektar bagi pembangunan fasa keduanya.

Judi Widjaya berkata, pihaknya bercadang membesarkan kilang pengeluaran pelekat di PKFZ itu menjelang 2010 dengan peningkatan sekali ganda keupayaan pengeluaran.

Bagaimanapun, beliau tidak dapat menganggarkan kos pembangunan fasa kedua kerana ia bergantung kepada pelbagai faktor termasuk kos bahan binaan.

“Kami yakin mendapat balik modal yang dilaburkan untuk pembangunan fasa pertama setahun selepas beroperasi,” katanya sambil menambah di Asean saja, pasaran pelekat dianggarkan sekitar 100 juta meter persegi sebulan.

Sementara itu, Phang berkata sejak pembukaannya pada November 2006, sebanyak 39 syarikat yang terbabit dalam pembuatan, pengedaran peralatan pelbagai industri, perdagangan dan logistik sudah melabur sekitar RM729 juta di PKFZ, sekali gus membuka 888 peluang pekerjaan baru.

Syarikat berkenaan, katanya, menguasai 30.8 hektar kawasan lapang, 25 unit industri ringan dan lebih 6,000 kaki persegi ruang pejabat.

“Pihak pengurusan PKFZ kini berunding dengan 55 syarikat tempatan dan luar negara yang memiliki potensi pelaburan bernilai RM610 juta,” katanya sambil menambah sasaran pelaburan itu dijangka dicapai akhir tahun ini.

“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.

A MEETING between the Public Accounts Committee and Port Klang Authority (PKA) officials has raised more questions than answers.

PAC chairman Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said the committee was “unsatisfied” with how the meeting went.

“The problem with the Port Klang Free Zone is far bigger than what the papers have reported,” he said yesterday.

“Far too many questions were left unanswered.”

When asked whether he was satisfied with the discussion, Shahrir said: “Look at us (the committee members). You can see from our body language that we are not.”

The two-hour meeting was meant to allow the PAC to question PKA officials on the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.

The project first raised eyebrows when PKA bought 405ha in Pulau Indah in 2002 for RM1.088 billion, or RM25 per sq ft, from Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd. The land purchase was followed by RM1.845 billion in costs for the development of the free trade zone.

In July, port operator Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) withdrew from a contract to manage PKFZ.

Last month, the Transport Ministry said the government had agreed to extend a loan of an unspecified amount to the heavily-indebted PKA to help cover the total cost which had ballooned to RM4.6 billion, including interest and other charges.

Shahrir referred to the auditor-general’s report on PKA for the 2005 financial year, showing PKA’s liquid assets to be inadequate in financing its capital obligations.

“According to the report, PKA’s liquidity as of December 2005 was RM231.75 million, while the tax surplus was RM26.63 million, so PKA would need additional financing to meet its capital obligations of RM4.11 billion.”

Those present at the meeting included PKA general manager Datin Paduka O.C. Phang and Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Zakaria Bahari.

IN A surprise move, Jafza International, the operator of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, has pulled out of a 15-year contract to manage the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), citing a change in business strategy.

Jafza, in a statement yesterday, said it had given notice of termination to the Port Klang Free Zone Authority (PKFZA), the body in charge of PKFZ, 12 years short of its contract expiry.

PKFZ, a RM4 billion government initiative, is meant to be a magnet for foreign investments. It is touted as the first of its kind where investors can carry out manufacturing activities.

Free trade zones are special areas where investors are normally given incentives such as tax breaks and undergo less red tape.

Jafza said it is now mainly interested in free zone projects in which it can retain operational control as an equity stakeholder.

PKFZ held a soft launch in November last year. An official opening was expected to be held in the first quarter of this year, but this has since been delayed.

On Tuesday, Port Klang Authority (PKA) general manager Datin O. C. Phang said the arrangement between PKA, the regulator of PKFZ, and Jafza had not changed.

This was despite the departure of Jafza representative Noel Gulliver in April, who was called back to take care of Jafza’s interests elsewhere.

Sources close to the matter told Business Times that Jafza had decided to withdraw as it seeks to focus more on projects around the world in which it has stakes.

PKA fully owns PKFZ.

“As it did not have a stake in PKFZ, the project became its lowest priority,” a source said.

The source added that Jafza had changed its general manager three times in the last three years.

It is understood that both parties will not seek compensation and have agreed to part amicably.

Jafza had originally signed the agreement with PKFZ in October 2004 to manage and market the free zone.

“It is a mutually acceptable decision and Jafza can (still) offer its marketing services if it wants to,” Phang said.

Phang is also the chairman of PKFZ.

“As far as we are concerned, we can manage on our own as we have capable Malaysians who have experience with (developing and marketing) free zones,” she added.

Jafza said it will work with PKFZ to ensure a smooth handover of management responsibility at the development.

PKFZ involves an area of 405ha in Pulau Indah, Port Klang.
Jafza’s role as operator and manager of PKFZ was much publicised given its success with the Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Plans were under way for Jafza to promote PKFZ to its existing clients in Jebel Ali.

PORT Klang Authority (PKA), the regulator of Northport and Westports, is still looking for someone to fill the position of managing director at the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), left vacant by Noel Gulliver William’s return to Dubai in April.

Gulliver was seconded by Jafza International, the international arm of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), to PKFZ last year to establish its mega distribution park in Pulau Indah, Selangor.

PKA general manager Datin O. C. Phang said the authority has decided not to replace the position with another Jafza International appointee. Instead, it will be taking out an advertisement for the position soon.

“We are open (to candidates interested in the position). We will not limit ourselves to local applicants, but also those from abroad,” she told a news conference in Port Klang yesterday.

“However, I am confident that we have good Malaysians who are capable of taking up the position. So let’s wait for the results,” she added.

Newly-appointed PKA chairman Datuk Chor Chee Heung had told Business Times last week that PKA was in talks with Jafza International over who will replace Gulliver.

PKA, which owns PKFZ, signed a 15-year contract with Jafza International on October 24 2004 to manage and market its free zone.

Phang said the arrangement between PKA and Jafza International has not changed and the latter will continue to help market and render its services to make PKFZ a success.

“We would like to use the marketing expertise of Jafza International to help make PKFZ better known (internationally) and to attract international businesses, but that doesn’t stop our own team from working hard and that’s why we have focused on getting additional marketing staff for this,” she said.

It is understood that PKA has hired two former Northport (Malaysia) Bhd senior executives to help drive the free zone’s growth.

It has appointed Chia Kon Leong, former assistant general manager of marketing and corporate communications at Northport, as general manager of business development and Helen How Mei Leng, former commercial manager of Northport, as general manager of marketing and corporate communications at PKFZ.

The Government, through PKA, is spending some RM4 billion to develop the 405ha PKFZ, which is slated for completion by April 2008.

In another development, Chor said PKA is leasing another 8ha to Northport to develop Southpoint, which serves as Northport’s centre for coastal trade.

He said the authority will terminate lease agreements with four parties to accommodate Northport.

Chor also said the dredging works on Port Klang’s north channel is expected to be completed by the end of this year at a cost of more than RM300 million.

The north channel is set to be deepened to 15.5m, similar to that in the south channel and enabling large vessels to go in and out both ways.

The dredging of the north channel is set to benefit Northport as well as other players in the shipping community as it will cut sailing time by three hours.

PORT Klang Authority (PKA), the regulator of Northport and Westports, said discussions are ongoing with Jafza International, the international arm of Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza), over who will replace Noel Gulliver William as managing director of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

The position has been left vacant since Gulliver’s return to Dubai in April. An Australian logistics executive, Gulliver, who has 13 years of experience in Asia, five of them as a senior executive with Maersk Logistics in Singapore, was seconded to PKFZ last year to establish its mega distribution park in Pulau Indah, Selangor.

“We don’t know yet. We have yet to decide (whether to appoint a local or someone from Jafza International). We expect to come up with a firm organisational structure in due course,” newly-appointed PKA chairman Datuk Chor Chee Heung told Business Times in an interview.

Meanwhile, Chor dismissed talk that Jafza International was pulling out of its contract with PKA due to a lack of progress in marketing PKFZ. The setting up of PKFZ Sdn Bhd to manage and market the free zone has fuelled further speculation that PKA was taking over the project.

“Gulliver’s departure was due to the company’s (Jafza International) restructuring initiatives, but both PKA and Jafza are still partners. The latter continues to play an advisory role in terms of marketing PKFZ. We still need their help internationally,” he said.

“We continue to have talks with Jafza International to see what is best for PKFZ,” he added.

PKA, which owns PKFZ, signed a 15-year contract with Jafza International on October 24 2004 to manage and market its free zone.

Under the agreement, Jafza International will partner PKA in conceptualising the development and marketing of PKFZ. These include management, administration, marketing and sales.

The Government, through PKA, is spending some RM4 billion to develop the 405ha PKFZ, which is slated for completion by April 2008. The project components comprise prepared land, light industrial and warehouse units, and a business complex.

“PKFZ is making good progress. Since the project started in November last year, without full infrastructural amenities, we have managed to attract RM468.3 million worth of investments from six companies for prepared land to build manufacturing facilities, eight companies for the light industrial or warehouse units and seven companies for the leased business complex,” said Chor.

“For 2007, we have received committed investments (not signed) from 21 companies for prepared land to build manufacturing facilities worth RM795 million and RM15 million for the light industrial or warehouse units and RM510,000 for the leased business complex.

“In addition, we have potential customers in the process of negotiations with RM258.6 million worth of investments,” he added.

In a statement released last week, PKFZ chairman Datin Paduka O.C. Phang said the latest investor in PKFZ was Pantech Group Holdings Bhd, which has taken seven acres of prepared land.

Pantech Group, a company listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia,
manufactures and supplies pipes, fittings and flow controls products.

PKFZ is the Government’s biggest investment in the port industry since 1990.

To attract investments to the free zone, the Government, through the Malaysian Industrial and Development Authority, is offering companies that are set up there with tax exemptions, export incentives, research and development incentives, 100 per cent foreign equity ownership and 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits.