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Northports terminal 4 to be completed by September

Northports terminal 4 to be completed by September
Despite delays, measures are being put in place to ensure that the Malaysian NorthPort's new container terminal is on track to start operations by September, chief executive officer Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid was quoted as saying by local media.

According to him 84.46% of the work had been completed as of 30 June. Work on the fourth terminal had been slower than expected due to difficulties in extracting old piles and limited working hours due to tidal restrictions.

Abi Sofian reiterated however that there will be no escalation in cost of its MYR500m ($157m) investment despite the delays.

Of this, MYR338m is being spent on Wharf 8A, which forms the bulk of terminal 4, to help boost its handling capacity to 5.6m teu from the current 5m teu.

Northport handled 3.1m teu last year and expects volume to rise 10% this year. According to Abi Sofian, with current utilisation rate at 60%, the port will face operating issues such as congestion and inefficiency when it reaches the 75% threshold.