KOTA KINABALU: Sabah should focus on developing industries that generate sustainable cargo instead of only aiming to attract more vessels to its ports, said a logistics expert.
Sabah Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) deputy chairman Mohd Faizal Malik said vessel calls were ultimately driven by cargo, trade flow and commercial opportunities rather than merely port infrastructure.
He said the state needed to rethink its approach to port development and maritime connectivity by identifying industries that could generate cargo and the shipping services they required.
Sabah, he said, had significant potential in sectors such as palm oil downstream processing, biomass and renewable energy, food and agro-processing, fisheries and cold-chain logistics, halal manufacturing and energy-related industries.
“These industries do not merely occupy industrial land. They create imports, exports, storage, trucking, warehousing, handling and marine services, which in turn generate demand for vessel calls,” he said.
Mohd Faizal said ports were increasingly competing as part of wider supply chains rather than simply against other ports, adding that Sabah’s competitiveness should be viewed through a combination of land, utilities, labour, industrial capabilities, logistics, port infrastructure, shipping connectivity and access to markets.
He proposed that Sabah consider developing a statewide cargo development strategy to identify potential cargo sources and determine the infrastructure and shipping requirements needed to support them.
