By The Star (DHARMENDER SINGH)
PORT KLANG: Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim is hoping to meet Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat and top officials from the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) next week to discuss how the state government can help to increase business in the area.
Khalid said he had been informed that the Transport Minister and PKFZ senior officials would be “available for coffee next week” to discuss the future of the 400ha Free Zone with him and how the state government could help add value to the business activities there.
He said the state government was interested in seeing better utilisation of the facility as it would help improve the state’s economy further by providing more jobs and business for its people.
He said he was happy to learn that efforts were underway to get PKFZ moving through cooperation from state bodies, the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) and other government agencies.
“Selangor is willing to play its part if the Federal Government wants to corporatise PKFZ and I have experience in the matter since I was involved in the corporatisation of Port Klang while I was with Kontainer Nasional,” he told reporters after a surprise visit to PKFZ Thursday afternoon.
He said an organisation owned by the Dubai Port and other ports of the world had indicated interest in running the zone if it could be packaged into an appropriate business deal and such a deal would fit the Federal Government’s initial plans to have a body run it independently.
On whether the state government was interested to take over the project as one of its subsidiaries, Khalid said, the state was now taking a “wait and see” approach to any such suggestion and primary concern now was ensuring PKFZ’s full utilisation.
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