The Carey Island project, together with Malaysia's main shipping hub Port Klang nearby, was originally meant to challenge Singapore's dominant position as South-east Asia's maritime hub. But falling volumes at Port Klang, largely due to global shipping alliances shifting operations to Singapore, have put paid to those plans for now, say industry and finance sector sources.
Stiff competition in the Strait of Malacca - one of the busiest shipping routes in the world - and wider options for transporting goods to and from Asia Pacific across the Indian Ocean has caused Malaysia's biggest maritime development to lose momentum, with both MMC Corp and the government hesitant to pour money into what may become a white elephant.
"With the government giving Klang rival Westports approval to double its capacity, the push for a third port in Klang is on the backburner," a source familiar with the project said. The other two ports are Westports - which controls 75 per cent of business in Klang - and MMC's Northport.
MMC did not respond to request for comment, but its managing director Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said in May that physical work on Carey Island's 10,000-hectare development would likely commence in 2020, despite earlier reports that it would begin by the end of this year.
"MMC is still presenting proposals on a third port in Klang but the government seems happy with the Westports expansion for now," an industry source said. Port Klang has faced a challenging year, as new shipping alliances began shifting their scheduled dockings to call at PSA Singapore since April.
Stiff competition in the Strait of Malacca - one of the busiest shipping routes in the world - and wider options for transporting goods to and from Asia Pacific across the Indian Ocean has caused Malaysia's biggest maritime development to lose momentum, with both MMC Corp and the government hesitant to pour money into what may become a white elephant.
"With the government giving Klang rival Westports approval to double its capacity, the push for a third port in Klang is on the backburner," a source familiar with the project said. The other two ports are Westports - which controls 75 per cent of business in Klang - and MMC's Northport.
MMC did not respond to request for comment, but its managing director Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said in May that physical work on Carey Island's 10,000-hectare development would likely commence in 2020, despite earlier reports that it would begin by the end of this year.
"MMC is still presenting proposals on a third port in Klang but the government seems happy with the Westports expansion for now," an industry source said. Port Klang has faced a challenging year, as new shipping alliances began shifting their scheduled dockings to call at PSA Singapore since April.