PORT KLANG: Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) will not lose out from Port Klang’s development of its third terminal on Carey Island as the economic cake is enough with increased cargo movements.
PKFZ Sdn Bhd CEO Priscilla Lim told Bernama in a recent interview that the proposed terminal at Pulau Carey complements rather than competes with Port Klang’s expansion.
Opportunities will be in support facilities, warehousing, development of industrial zones and port-related value-added activities.
Lim’s optimism about the spillover benefits stems from Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Amiruddin Shari’s recent announcement that land-related matters for Port Klang’s proposed Third Terminal on Carey Island were finalised last December, reviving the long-delayed expansion expected to reshape Malaysia’s busiest port.
The Pulau Carey development involves 1,012 hectares (ha) of seabed area, 688ha owned by Yayasan Selangor and another 86ha that could be developed at any time.
Carey Island is located adjacent to Westports, Malaysia’s busiest container terminal.
It is near Northport, placing it at the heart of Port Klang’s logistics ecosystem.
Plans for the proposed Third Terminal are expected to expand the region’s cargo-handling capacity.
The development will leverage thousands of acres of flat, reclaimed and developable land suitable for port-related industries, heavy manufacturing and special economic zones, supporting sectors such as logistics, petrochemicals, shipbuilding and automotive components.
PKFZ, a subsidiary of Port Klang Authority (PKA), is a regional distribution hub operating as a free commercial and industrial zone near Port Klang, with its primary function being international cargo distribution, manufacturing activities, amenities, and customs administration.
PKFZ sits across the narrow waterway from Pulau Carey.
“We are doing well here. We have our natural advantage, and if Carey Island is developed, the cake expands. We are not shrinking.
“If they have a terminal, they will need support facilities, warehouses, industrial zones and value-added activities. PKFZ can support the development.
“It is a project under the MoT and PKA. We fully support the project,” Lim said.
Unlike Westports and Northport, whose priority is to move containers as quickly as possible to avoid congestion, she said.
PKFZ complements both terminals by providing industrial, warehousing and logistics facilities. Cargoes can be stored, repackaged, assembled or manufactured before being exported or distributed domestically.
“If there is congestion, we become the buffer. We have warehouses, open yards and facilities. Containers can come in temporarily before moving out again,” she said.
Lim said PKFZ contributed about 442,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) to Port
Klang’s overall container throughput in 2025 via cargo handled by Westports and Northport, or 3% of the port’s total throughput.
She also expressed confidence in PKFZ continuing its turnaround plan, with 254.14ha of its 384.45ha industrial zone now fully leased.
PKFZ has been undergoing a turnaround programme since last year after nearly two decades of underutilisation and legacy financial obligations.
The company is repurposing its free zone to meet current market demand while improving occupancy and recurring income. This will strengthen its financial position and accelerate repayment of the RM3.8 billion federal loan.
Of the 66.77 hectares allocated for light industrial units (LIU), about 65% has been taken up. This caters to smaller businesses or tenants requiring lease periods of between one and three years,
Although PKFZ’s commercial zone is now 86% reactivated, Lim said the company is ready to repurpose some of its existing facilities to suit investors’ requirements.
“We are considering repurposing the LIU. Perhaps about 20 acres at the initial stage and converting them into long-term open land leases of up to 30 years,“ she said.
The company is also studying the possibility of redeveloping older facilities into modern logistics assets, including multi-storey warehouses and automated storage systems, to meet changing industry requirements.
Lim said PKFZ is also diversifying its tenant mix following the decline in the London Metal Exchange (LME)-related warehousing activities, a key business previously.
“It used to store more than one million aluminium ingots. This has narrowed to around 200,000. Business is always dynamic, and we cannot depend on only one industry,” she said.
Lim said the highest recorded LME stocks in Port Klang were in February 2023, with inventory totalling 1.7 million tonnes of aluminium.
This massive volume placed in Port Klang made it the largest single metal-storing hub in the LME’s global warehousing network.
PKFZ is now targeting industries such as oil and gas, food processing, rubber products, building materials, maintenance, repair and overhaul, logistics and light manufacturing.
