PORT KLANG, 5 September 2022
His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj Ibni Almarhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj officiated the launch of Port Klang Cruise Terminal (“PKCT”), a joint venture cruise terminal in Port Klang owned by Klang Port Management Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (“Northport”) and Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd (“Westports”). The launch event was held on 5 September 2022 at PKCT in Pulau Indah, Port Klang.
Also present during the launch event were Her Royal Highness Tengku Permaisuri Selangor, Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin; the Crown Prince of Selangor, Tengku Amir Shah Ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj; Menteri Besar of Selangor, YAB Dato’ Seri Amirudin Bin Shari; Minister of Transport, YB Datuk Seri Ir. Dr. Wee Ka Siong; Selangor State Secretary, YB Dato’ Haji Haris Bin Kasim, Senior Corporate Advisor Albukhary Foundation, Dato’ Sri Abdul Aziz Shahar; Chairman of MMC Corporation Berhad, Tan Sri Tajuddin Atan; Group Managing Director of MMC Corporation Berhad, Tan Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh; Executive Chairman of Westports Holdings Berhad, Tan Sri Datuk G. Gnanalingam; Chairman of PKCT, Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof and other dignitaries including the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom, HE Charles Hay and the High Commissioner of Canada, HE Wayne Mitchell Robson.
In December 2019, Northport and Westports entered into a joint venture to take over the shareholding of Boustead Cruise Centre Sdn Bhd (“BCC”) on a 50:50 ratio from Boustead Holdings Bhd (“Boustead”). In March 2021, Northport, Westports and Boustead executed a Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (“SSPA”) for the acquisition of BCC. All conditions in the SSPA were fulfilled on 23 September 2021 and ownership of BCC was transferred to Northport and Westports on the same day.
Following the successful completion of the acquisition, the new owners of the cruise terminal have embarked on rebranding exercise and today, this cruise terminal is known as PKCT.
“In 2019, Malaysia’s cruise tourism sector captured the highest market share in Southeast Asia region by the number of port calls. Port Klang was the leading dedicated cruise terminal operator in Malaysia with 40% market share based on number of port calls in the same year. To date, Port Klang has handled more than 5 million passengers and more than 5,500 cruise ships since it began operations in 1995”, said Dato’ Azman.
As with most economic sectors, PKCT was not spared by the COVID-19 pandemic as the cruise industry was on a standstill due to the lockdown. Nevertheless, PKCT persevered and pivoted towards serving laid up vessels during the last two years.
“On 1 July 2022, we were delighted to see the resumption of cruise ships calling at our terminal. The arrival of Spectrum of the Seas owned by Royal Caribbean International was a significant milestone, as it marked the revival of cruise tourism due to COVID-related travel restrictions. On 4 July 2022, Resort World Cruises began home-porting at PKCT, with its vessel, Genting Dream, and this has received tremendous response from local holidaymakers. We are pleased to announce that since 1 July 2022, we have had 32 cruise ship calls with 73,924 passengers arriving in PKCT”, added Dato’ Azman.
“PKCT has the competitive advantage to be Asia’s top cruise ships destination. The terminal is strategically located in the most developed and progressive state in the country, Selangor Darul Ehsan, which has myriad of tourism attractions. The terminal is also about 1 hour drive to Kuala Lumpur, one of the most visited cities in the world. Owing to its strategic location, PKCT has the capability to attract major global passenger cruise liners”, said Dato’ Azman.
PKCT is one of the few cruise terminals in the region capable of handling large modern cruise and navy vessels comfortably, with a reputation of efficient port services and convenient facilities and amenities for both cruise passengers and crew.
The five-story terminal is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and amenities for the comfort of passengers and terminal users including link bridges for embarkation and disembarkation, covered walkways connecting between wharf and terminal, ATM machines, foreign exchange counters, wi-fi zone, convenience stores, souvenir and gift shops, duty-free outlets, Mah Meri exhibition area and a Tourist Information Centre set up by Tourism Selangor. Ample parking space is also available for cars, taxis and buses to take the passengers for onshore excursions.
To welcome the resumption of the cruise tourism, PKCT has introduced a new attraction for cruise ships’ passengers and crew which is ‘Cruise Day Fiesta‘ featuring food trucks, art and craft exhibitions, and traditional dance performance at the PKCT terminal building in conjunction with Tourism Selangor.
“Under the new ownership and management, PKCT shall be positioned for further growth in the cruise sector and for the betterment of Port Klang as a whole. Moving forward, we will be discussing with the Government on our future expansion plans where we intend to extend our wharf to cater for more cruise ship calls. We also plan to upgrade our terminal facilities to cater for more passengers. The goal is for PKCT to become the catalyst of growth for the nation’s tourism industry and as a key economic driver for the state of Selangor”, concluded Dato’ Azman.
