PUTRAJAYA, Dec 3 — A truck and inland clearance depot (ICD) costing RM200 million will be developed as part of Kota Perdana Special Border Economic Zone (SBEZ) in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah.

Named as Bukit Kayu Hitam ICD, the 20.2-hectare depot will be developed and managed by a newly formed joint-venture company, Bukit Kayu Hitam ICD Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 partnership between PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd and Northern Gateway Sdn Bhd.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng witnessed the signing of a strategic partnership between Northern Gateway Logistic Centre Sdn Bhd and One Northern Hub Sdn Bhd here today.

Northern Gateway Logistic is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northern Gateway, which in turn is a wholly-owned entity of Minister of Finance Incorporated, while One Northern Hub is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PKT Logistics Group.

Lim said the government was supporting the development by providing RM25 million in 2019 and another RM50 million in 2020 to build external infrastructure like roads and utilities to make the depot a success.

He said the project would improve Malaysia and Thailand’s trade as the kingdom is currently Malaysia’s fifth largest trading partner globally with total trade value of RM105.4 billion in 2018.

“Approximately 70 per cent of this value is attributed to trade across the land border, with the Bukit Kayu Hitam-Sadao crossing taking centre stage,” Lim said.

PKT Logistics Group chairman Datuk Jalilah Baba said the ICD consisted of three phases with the groundbreaking expected in the first half of next year and the development slated for completion in 2022.

She said the ICD, linked to the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security complex, would be the integrated logistics hub to cater to an annual throughput of 200,000 containers along the warehouses and cross-dock facilities for cargo consolidation and container stuffing.

“With an integrated and sustainable ICD at Bukit Kayu Hitam, we aim to attract more south Thailand’s transshipment cargo through Malaysian ports, by making all cross-border truck processes for shipping lines, forwarders and customs clearance agents as efficient as it can be,” she said.

The ICD would be self-sustaining as it would also contain a petrol station and multi-storey tower providing office space, a logistics institute, and recreational facilities to cater to the needs of truckers, she added. — Bernama