Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Timber Industries Association want the multi-million ringgit expansion project at Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP), here, speeded up.
They are demanding that Suria Capital Holdings Berhad, Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia) and project contractors immediately accelerate remaining dredging and civil engineering phases works amid mounting concerns over prolonged severe congestion and project delays.
STIA said the extended infrastructure delays have begun impacting localised port efficiency and vessel turnaround times.
“Growing uncertainty surrounding the pace of construction raised questions over whether the terminal could realistically achieve its targeted handling capacity of 1.25 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) by the revised completion deadline at the end of 2026,” said its President Tan Peng Juan.
He said the ongoing delays are already placing significant strain on Sabah’s logistics network and business community, with the supply chains and investment confidence.
“The expansion project, executed by the WCT-CCCC Joint Venture under the supervision of the Sedia, commenced in September 2021 and was initially expected to be completed between 2021 and 2024.
“Due to complex maritime engineering challenges, the project missed its initial Feb. 28, 2025 completion target. Current work is progressing between 18 and 26 per cent with a revised target set for this year.
“Hence, industry stakeholders are concerned over the prolonged infrastructure delays and whether the project can meet its revised completion timeline.
“Which led us to call on Suria Capital, Sedia and the contractors to expedite the remaining dredging and civil engineering phases to minimise further disruption to port operations,” he said, Thursday.
He said the main contractor responsible for the dredging and reclamation works at Suria Capital’s flagship port development is WCT-CCCC (WCT Berhad and China Communications Construction Company (M) Sdn Bhd) Joint Venture and they were awarded the project by the Government of Malaysia, represented by Sedia for the proposed expansion of the SBCP.
He said the dredging scope involving their extensive engineering and infrastructure contract explicitly encompasses environmental protection, site investigation, dredging and reclamation works, seawall construction, and building the new container yard and quay deck.
Due to the foundational dredging, land reclamation and berth extension phases remain incomplete. Tan said the port is experiencing temporary constriction in operational footprint.
He said the delay has led to:
Berth Constraints: Prolonged construction limits active quay length, causing brief vessel queuing during peak shipping windows.
Yard Congestion: Ongoing site consolidation works have restricted optimal container movement, resulting in temporary layout bottlenecks.
Operational Adaptations: Ground handling teams have adjusted container stacking configurations to maximize the available space.
He said the delay by the main contractors is challenging to the State, and the industry is facing more pressure in having to pay for the delay in the form of Congestion Surcharge by shipping lines, which is a practice that has been ongoing for many years.
Consequently, he said, the cost has in many ways been passed to the consumers.
“Over the past several weeks, congestion at SBCP has reportedly resulted in container truck queues stretching up to four kilometres, while median waiting times have reached as long as 5.56 days.
“Domestic liner waiting times have also exceeded 100 hours during certain peak periods, limiting truck drivers to only one or two trips daily compared with the usual four to five trips.
“The situation has been compounded by a reduction in free storage days at ports from five days to three days, forcing cargo owners to bear additional storage charges when vessels are unable to berth according to schedule,” he said.
In addition, Tan said shipping and logistics costs have also risen sharply following the implementation of new congestion surcharges by feeder operators.
“Carrier-owned containers are now subjected to surcharges of RM500 for 20-foot containers and RM1,000 for 40-foot containers, while shipper-owned containers incur additional charges of US$130 and US$260 respectively.
“Local haulage companies have also increased delivery charges by between RM150 and RM350 depending on destination,” he said.
He said these current logistics crisis has triggered calls not only for systemic improvements but has also evolved from an operational inconvenience into a major economic bottleneck, affecting delivery cycles across Sabah’s entire supply chain and undermining the State’s reputation as an attractive investment destination.
Despite mitigation measures by Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd together with DP World, shipping lines and port users, he said congestion issues remained unresolved.
“We appreciates the State Government’s intervention initiatives. However, the interim measures implemented have yet to fully stabilise port operations or alleviate the severe congestion.
“The prolonged delays risked undermining Sabah’s competitiveness as a regional trade and investment destination if infrastructure upgrades were not expedited,” he said.
Tan said stronger execution and faster project delivery are now critical to restoring confidence in the State’s main container gateway.
