22.02.2019 (The Borneo Post) - KOTA KINABALU: The logistics potential of Sabah’s east coast was presented to an international audience in Manila this week as part of the state’s move towards wider and deeper industrialization.

State-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, the developer of the port-equipped palm oil industrial cluster in Lahad Datu, was one of the speakers at the biennial three-day 10th Philippines Ports & Shipping 2019 Exhibition & Conference attended by 350 global representatives at the Philippine capital from Feb 19.

The company was represented by Rose Pun, its senior manager for marketing and sales. Her paper was entitled “POIC as a catalyst for the development of Sabah and BIMP-EAGA”. Speakers representing the port authorities of Sabah and Miri also presented papers.

The event, one of the largest of its nature in Asean and supported by the Philippines Port Authority, includes an exhibition participated by major global and regional shipping companies, cargo owners container ports, logistics equipment companies, etc.

The audience of many of the region’s top executives in shipping and logistics were told of the comprehensive port infrastructure at Lahad Datu which Sabah wants to develop into a logistics hub for international cargo, including oil palm-related oil and gas-related products from POIC Lahad Datu.

Pun took the audience on a virtual tour of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean growth Area and emphasized how a well-equipped and strategically located port like POIC Lahad Datu could become the amalgamating and distribution point for the region’s natural resources and value-added products.

BIMP-EAGA, which includes the entire Borneo island, is the producer of most of the world’s palm oil. The territories of the BIMP-EAGA member countries are also major producers of oil and gas, rubber, cocoa, coal and other minerals as well as maritime produce.

POIC port’s location at the eastern seaboard of Borneo also underscores its potential as a major port along the growing Lombok-Makassar Strait, Asia’s second most important sea lane after the Straits of Melaka.

POIC port has separate terminals for oil products, dry bulk cargo, container and a barge landing point. Compared to numerous other ports along Lombok-Makassar and the region, POIC’s strength lies in its natural sheltered deep harbour with a draft of over 20 metres.

Its container terminal began operation recently whilst other terminals have been in operation since 2013.