Kota Kinabalu: Sabah must focus on establishing industries that generate sustainable cargo rather than merely trying to attract more vessels to its ports, says Sabah Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) deputy chairman Mohd Faizal Malik (pic).
Stressing that vessel calls are driven by commercial opportunities rather than infrastructure alone, he said port planning must be integrated directly into the State’s industrialisation strategy.
He identified sectors such as palm oil downstream processing, biomass, agro-processing, fisheries, halal manufacturing and energy as key drivers capable of creating sustained demand for logistics and shipping services.
Mohd Faizal noted that industrial hubs like the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) Lahad Datu should function as integrated ecosystems where investors are guaranteed access to raw materials, logistics and competitive export channels.
To achieve this, he proposed that Sabah formulate a Statewide Cargo Development Strategy to map cargo sources, infrastructure requirements and regional market links across wider supply chains.
