INGENIEUR
Johor Port Authority to monitor PTP ’ s annual achievement . A sample of these performance measures are provided in Table 4 .
Sustainable Port Operation and Development In tandem with heightened global concerns about the environment and greenhouse gases emissions , ports are expected to take action and support the cause . Consistent with the UN Sustainable Development Goals , many ports have already embarked on a more sustainable operation and development strategy . The whole purpose is to ensure that daily port operations will not severely impact the marine environment or the air quality surrounding ports .
For PTP , a Green Port Policy has already been adopted and used to ensure the environment surrounding the port is as sustainable as the port ’ s business . The policy provides guidelines on proactive approaches and simple solutions where impacts on the local community and the environment can be better managed 19 .
Summary
Ports around the world have evolved from merely acting as safe havens and gateways to trade to become part of the global supply chain . Ports also play an important role in national development and contribute significantly to the economy . The transformation of ports in Malaysia have followed a definitive global pattern that is also supported by Government policy . Ports like Port Klang and PTP are now world class ports performing at par with other top ports in the world , vindicating the Government ’ s move to privatise port operations in Malaysia .
Port management and operation have adopted modern and technology-based approaches that have yielded high levels of efficiency and productivity . In a very competitive environment , ports have to consistently raise the quality of their services to attract shipping lines and investors .
Performance measures and indicators are widely utilised to discern the best performing ports from the rest . In order to stay in the competition , ports employ a variety of approaches and a high number of equipment and technology to improve and maintain optimum performance . Human resource remains a golden asset to ports and must be continuously motivated to perform at the highest level . While the drive towards digitalisation and autonomous technology will continue , some of the challenges faced by ports like PTP are : 1 . Increase in container ship size ; 2 . Cost of operation where cost of investing in new equipment and manpower has increased ;
3 . Land to expand for future development ; and
4 . Support services from Government agencies .
Perhaps , it is the time now for the Government to revisit the National Port Strategy Study that was concluded by the World Bank in 2016 and take on board many of the recommendations to drive the way forward for the port industry in Malaysia .
REFERENCE
1 . International Chamber of Shipping website , https :// www . ics-shipping . org / shipping-facts / shipping-and-world-trade
2 . Review of Maritime Transport 2018 , UNCTAD
3 . “ Free Trade Zone and Port Hinterland Development ”, UNESCAP and Korea Maritime Institute , 2005
4 . “ Ports : Importance , Institutional Status and Growth Prospects Inception Report ”, Sgouris P Sgouridis , Massachusetts Institute of Technology , March 2003
5 . Sourced from Department of Statistics Malaysia
6 . Malaysia Shipping Master Plan 2017 – 2022 , page 24
7 . The Worldwide Maritime Network of Container Shipping : Spatial Structure and Regional Dynamics , César Ducruet and Theo Notteboom , GaWC Research Bulletin 364 , Vol . 12 , Issue 3 , July 2012 .
8 . “ Sri Lanka ’ s Maritime Hub Vision : An Analysis of Potentially Supportive Factors ”, Lalith Edirisinghe & T . Laluthasiri Gunaruwan , University of Colombo , Sri Lanka Economics Research Conference , 2013 .
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