Kota Kinabalu: The State Government has rolled out 10 interim measures to ease congestion at Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP), with the aim of improving logistics efficiency, reducing operating costs and preventing higher prices for goods in Sabah.
Deputy Chief Minister III and Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said the Government viewed congestion at SBCP seriously because it affected the logistics supply chain, operational costs and ultimately the cost of goods in the State.
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Responding to a question from Datuk Donald Peter Mojuntin (Upko-GRS) during the State Assembly sitting Monday, Ewon said his Ministry had established a task force chaired by himself to coordinate the implementation of the 10 interim action plans approved by the State Cabinet.
“The task force is responsible for coordinating the integrated implementation of the 10 interim action plans and ensuring continuous and more effective monitoring with the relevant agencies and industry players,” he said.
Among the measures is the proposed acquisition of 14 acres of adjoining land to provide additional container yard space.
Ewon said new storage tariffs for containers exceeding the free storage period were introduced under Sabah Ports Authority Circular No. 01/2026 issued on Feb 13 this year.
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He said stricter enforcement under Section 46 of the Sabah Ports Authority Enactment 1981 would also be carried out to dispose of containers left in storage for more than 21 days to free up space.
He said the free container storage period during peak seasons had also been reduced from five days to three days to improve container turnaround and ease congestion when the port operates at high capacity.
“In addition, a trailer parking site has been identified at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP) to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion within the port area,” he said.
Ewon said a Vehicle Booking System (VBS), implemented on April 1, had streamlined the movement of lorries entering and leaving the terminal while improving slot management at SBCP.
He said all relevant government agencies had also expressed their commitment to support 24-hour operations at SBCP, subject to prior notification under Sabah Ports Authority Circular No. 02/2026, while the Royal Malaysian Customs Department was preparing recommendations for amendments to the relevant Customs Regulations to facilitate the initiative.
“The port operator is also upgrading its handling equipment through the deployment of three additional prime movers, two reach stackers, five Internal Transfer Vehicles (ITVs) in July 2026 and the planned purchase of another seven ITVs in the first quarter of 2027,” he said.
Ewon said the relocation of roll-on roll-off (Roro) operations from SBCP to Kota Kinabalu Port, which took effect on May 15, had freed up space at the main container yard by allowing the former Roro area to be used as temporary storage for empty containers.
He added that the Berthing Window Programme, which came into effect on May 22, had improved vessel scheduling, with preliminary data indicating an Average Berthing Waiting Time of about 50 hours, and its effectiveness would be reviewed after 30 days together with shipping companies.
“The Ministry remains committed to monitoring the effectiveness of these interim plans and providing concrete solutions to congestion at SBCP so that smoother logistics flows will help minimise operating costs and avoid increases in the prices of goods that would burden the people,” he said.
