Tanjung Manis Port is located at latitude 2ᵒ 08’N and longitude 111ᵒ 21’E. This natural deep water port is situated 30 km from the mouth of Rajang River with draught of 11 metres, providing a safe berthing place for ocean liners. Its strategic location makes Tanjung Manis a vital gateway for trade.
Tanjung Manis Integrated Port Sdn. Bhd. (TMP), wholly owned subsidiary of Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC), was tasked as a port operator by the State Government in February 2009 to operate, manage and develop the port.
TMP Executive Director, Mdm. Sadiah Binti Tu pointed out that TMP had achieved significant growth particularly in terms of containerised cargo handling. The total throughput grew from 4,900 TEUs in 2009 to 93,000 TEUs by the end of 2013
Due to rapid growth, she said TMP is now expanding the port in terms of berthing space as well as container storage area. She revealed that the port refurbishment project includes extension of wharf by 100 metres, expansion of open storage space, administrative building, surau as well as in-gate-out-gate complex. The project will be completed in March 2015.
“With this expansion, TMP will be able to cater for at least 220,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs) by 2018. The next phase of development will depend on demand for better facilities to cater for more volume of cargo generated by other industries such as Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC), Shipbuilding, timber and Tanjung Manis Halal Hub. With the development of new township in Tanjung Manis commencing in 2014, TMP is growing in tandem with the Port City by 2020 and beyond”, Mdm. Sadiah said.
The establishment of Tanjung Manis Port Authority (TMPA) in April 2012 augurs well in accelerating the development of Tanjung Manis Port by ensuring a well planned and coordinated port development to meet the current and future needs of port users in Tanjung Manis besides ensuring good governance and effective enforcement within the port limits.
Moving forward, the General Manager of TMPA, Tuan Haji Latiff Bin Coupon said that the immediate plan is to look into improving accessibility and safety of navigation of the channel to ensure palm oil tankers’ accessibility on 24 hours basis. TMPA would also look into feasibility study of the need to develop a dedicated container terminal in Tanjung Manis in line with the state government’s effort to develop Tanjung Manis Halal Hub.
Photo: Loading & unloading of cargos into the vessel at TMP
