Up until end of July, MPM had invested RM6.3 million into infrastructure improvements at Labuan Liberty Terminal despite a reduction of approximately 35 per cent in cargo volume.
KUCHING: The new operator of Labuan Liberty Terminal, Megah Port Management Sdn Bhd (MPM), yesterday refuted claims about port charges being higher than before.
MPM managing director Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Mohd Zinin said: “While we value all opinions and suggestions towards making Labuan Liberty Terminal a prominent port in the region, we see a need to immediately address certain inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims made towards the port management. Contrary to the allegations, we have not imposed any increments to the charges and fees ever since we took over the management of the port.”
As announced previously, MPM had made the first move to waive all Wharfage and Berthing charges in light of the Covid-19 impact on its clients. Until today, the Company has not yet collected any of these charges, and it does not intend to do so before discussing terms at the upcoming town hall session.
“During such an unprecedented time when economic activity has slowed down due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) and Covid-19, it would make sense for a company to cut back on its capital expenditure but we have done the complete opposite,” he continued.
“Up until end of July, we have invested RM6.3 million into infrastructure improvements at Labuan Liberty Terminal despite a reduction of approximately 35 per cent in cargo volume. Our stakeholders and port users have seen and appreciated our efforts, and we have received positive feedback in return.”
When approached for comments, several shipping agents, freight forwarders and logistics providers were willing to back MPM’s refutation of the recent complaints.
Labuan Station Manager Jerry Hii from Crane Worldwide Logistics said this: “Crane Worldwide Logistics has been a port user of Labuan Liberty Terminal since 2015, and I have not seen any of the alleged price hikes since the new operator took over.
“We had large volumes of materials coming in from Singapore and Brunei recently, and if there were any changes in our logistics costs it would have been reflected in our financial statements.
“On the contrary, service has improved significantly, and MPM’s quick actions to improve port efficiency have also been vital to the freight forwarders and shipping lines, as container release time has been expedited and ship turnaround has reduced from 3 days to 1-2 days.”
Anthony Dass, Ben Line Agencies Sdn Bhd shipping agent manager, noted that MPM had provided waivers during MCO, and denied that there were any extra charges. On how the new operator was doing, he said: “MPM’s initiative to extend operating hours has benefitted us greatly as it allows port users to complete the loading and unloading of cargo more efficiently compared to before.”
Gaurika Gurugamage, Labuan Branch Manager of GAC, another leading provider of shipping, logistics and marine-related services globally, also shared that MPM had not increased any terminal charges so far. He added that MPM had supported the shipping community during MCO and hoped that it will continue to do so.
It is important to note that the combined ships of these representatives make up 95% of Labuan Port’s imported cargo from places such as Singapore, Brunei and Port Klang.
As incoming goods often arrive on Thursday or Friday, MPM had started the initiative to exclude Saturdays and Sundays as part of the three-days free storage facility as to allow port users to have more time to deliver their cargo without additional costs incurred. Previously, Saturdays and Sundays were counted as part of the three days free storage facility, which caused port users to pay additional charges for a non-business day.
Another key initiative by MPM was to extend its working hours for a full-day operation which gives port users ample time to move their goods. In comparison, the previous operator was operating 13 to 14 hours per day whereas MPM has extended operations to 20 to 21 hours per day.
Port users have welcomed this as the new operating hours help to increase the efficiency of the port by eliminating potential port congestions, as well as improve the competitiveness of shipping agents in the long run.
Bakri concluded: “We would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that MPM is an integrated services port operator, and this means that we manage ship side stevedore and land based handling, as compared to the previous operator which only does the latter.
“In totality our charges remain the same as the previous operator, and yet the port services that we provide are far more superior when you look at it in terms of port operations efficiency, safety and security, as well as infrastructure.”