AN automotive logistics hub to be built on mainland Penang for RM630 million is set to raise Penang Port’s profile as a transportation and logistics hub.

The Penang Port will be boosted further with the construction of a RM200 million Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd facility in Batu Kawan, Seberang Prai.

The port’s shipment volume is set to increase by as early as next year from the projects, said Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) chief executive Datuk Redza Rafiq.

Redza said the hub would be built by Shah Alam-based PKT Logistics Group Sdn Bhd in Seberang Prai.

“Once the hub is ready, logistics players can be highly dependent on Penang Port for the delivery of their containers, especially as PKT’s customers in the northern region include automotive players Naza Group and Sime Darby Bhd’s Inokom Corp Sdn Bhd,” he told Business Times yesterday.

He said PKT was expected to work with automotive assemblers to set up the hub in terms of providing end-to-end design, implementation and operation of logistics solutions in freight forwarding, Customs brokering, contract logistics, haulage and distribution management.

The new Boon Siew Honda facility, meanwhile, will serve as a one-stop production and sales centre.

It will also house the company’s manufacturing plant and service, parts and safety riding centre, along with a site to promote motor sports development.

“The company is looking into producing high-end performance motorcycles and expanding its existing domestic sales to include Asean markets,” Redza said.

Boon Siew Honda’s existing facility is in Mak Mandin on the mainland.

“The role of Penang Port over the last four decades as an integral part of the distribution network to many industry players continues to be sustained with these investments,” Redza said.

He singled out existing investors like Robert Bosch and Panasonic, which are currently highly dependant on the port to ship their solar cells and solar panels.

“Singapore Aerospace Manufacturing also uses the port to transport parts, such as the engine covers of next-generation aircraft that it makes here,” he noted.