NORTHPORT AND PROTON FORM STRATEGIC COLLABORATION

SHAH ALAM, 6 March 2019 – Northport (Malaysia) Bhd (“Northport”) and Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (“PROTON”) formed a collaboration through the signing of a strategic collaboration and services agreement in relation to the port services to be provided by Northport to PROTON which include vehicle storage as well as to manage the handling of Proton vehicles at the terminal. Meanwhile, PROTON will continue to use Northport as their home port for export, import and transhipment of all types of Proton vehicles.

The agreement was signed by Northport’s Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Azman Shah Mohd Yusof and PROTON’s Chief Procurement Officer, Mr. Lim Meng Jin in Shah Alam today. Also present during the signing ceremony were Dato’ Sri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh, Group Managing Director of MMC Corporation Berhad, Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of PROTON, Mr. Ian James, Group Chief Executive Officer of MMC Port Holdings Sdn Bhd (MMC Ports), and representatives from the Roll-On/Roll-Off (RoRo) shipping industry players.

For the handling of vehicles at Northport, Vehicle Transit Centre (VTC) was developed to enhance the RoRo terminal value chain. Northport has allocated an area of 37 acres for the VTC operations. Currently, Northport offers 8,100 slots for vehicle storage in which 4,500 slots are allocated for PROTON. Annually, Northport has the capacity to handle 150,000 units of vehicles at its terminal.

The VTC is strategically located on-dock to meet the demand for the domestic, regional and international automotive trades. The area is surrounded by high security fencing and monitored round-the-clock using closed circuit and soon-to-be launched drone surveillance system. The services provided at Northport’s VTC include vehicle storage, washing and predelivery inspection. It is also equipped with modern tracking export barcode system and three-points electrical charging point for Energy Efficient Vehicles (EEV).

PROTON started using Northport for its port and shipment related activities since 1989. Their first compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), the Proton X70 is currently using Northport as its discharging port. To date, Northport has handled close to 9,000 units of the SUV and are expected to continue to handle the remainder of the units before local production begins at the end of 2019.

Speaking during the signing ceremony, Dato’ Azman said, “Northport’s RoRo Terminal is poised to facilitate PROTON’s demand for comprehensive port services. We are capable of providing end-to-end automotive logistics services with our state-of-the-art port facilities”.

Commenting on behalf of PROTON, Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed said, “PROTON is pleased to extend its business collaboration with Northport in our efforts to rebuild the brand both locally and abroad. Growing export markets is a key component of our future expansion so Northport is a vital strategic partner for us to achieve our aims”.

Northport is a subsidiary of MMC Ports, Malaysia’s largest port operator. MMC Ports is a wholly-owned subsidiary of MMC Corporation Berhad, a conglomerate involved in ports and logistics; energy and utilities; and engineering. MMC operates Port of Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd, Johor Port Berhad, Penang Port Sdn Bhd, Tanjung Bruas Port Sdn Bhd, Kontena Nasional Berhad and JP Logistics Sdn Bhd.

“As Port Klang’s premier multi-purpose port, our principal functions are to ensure safe port operations and continuously improve our operational efficiency in order to meet the growing demands of the logistics and shipping industry. Our aim is to work closely with our strategic partners such as PROTON to fulfill our mutual business objectives as well as to assist in growing the Malaysian economy,” said Dato’ Azman.