Malaysia Institute of Transport

 

 Assoc Prof Sabariah Mohamad,

Director of MITRANS

               Praise be to Allah the Almighty, for the strength and determination that He has given us in performing our roles and striving towards making MITRANS the leading Institute in transport and logistics knowledge.

The past years have been the most challenging years for MITRANS. As an excellent centre of the university, MITRANS is entrusted with a mandate to contribute towards a world class university and internationalization. The performance of MITRANS was again measured through the key performance indicator of an excellent centre set by the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia. It was proud to announce that MITRANS was able to meet the KPI set however is now working towards enhancing its performance in research activities and at the same time providing opportunities for post-graduate research education.

               The TRANSLINK project acquired through the EU Asialink has completed with a fruitful extended collaborations among its partners who are now putting up proposal for the formation of ASEAN-EURO School of Transportation to be funded by ASEAN agency and the EU- grant. MITRANS has also received invitation from the Provincia Allesandria, Italy as a partner on a transport and logistics project under the EU-SWITCH Asia schemes. If successful, this will be another 1.5million euro international project benefiting the country as the focus would be on ports and infrastructure development.

MITRANS has also received invitation from KYOTO University and NUS in a collaborative research on gateways infrastructure development. Having been trusted to host ANTLER (Asia Pacific Network for Transport and Logistics Education and Research), a project of UN-UNESCAP which will allow MITRANS to integrate in regional research collaborations and capacity building among members from Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sweden and UK.

Another huge recognition is the endorsement of MITRANS to become the Malaysia Logistics Council excellent centre. MITRANS will be entrusted to conduct policy research and human capital development plans for the government and transport and logistics industry. Approval has been received by MITI and the Cabinet Committee Meetings held recently. Some amount of RM5 million launching grant and an annual RM one million research grant would be acquired. Discussions on the working mechanism are in progress.

The multi-disciplinary approach to transport and logistics research have allowed MITRANS to integrate a large number of academics from the various faculties in UiTM and allow the recruitment of young transport graduates of various faculties to gain experience as research assistant and some embark on their postgraduate studies.

The opportunities ahead requires MITRANS to strengthen its structure and more recruitments of qualified personnel are in progress.

The trust given by international members, the government and the industry have given us the confident that MITRANS can go real far to bring UiTM to the limelight. Great appreciations should go to all the staff of MITRANS, the managers and research fellows including the associate fellows for their hardworking and continuous effort in making all these success including all the support and guidance given by UiTM top management.

MITRANS will continue partnering with the transport and logistics industry players, the government agencies and other research institutions in championing transport research and education in the region and achieve the aspiration of UiTM in becoming a world class comprehensive research university.

From a mere airport services provider....

New projects to drive Senai growth

Services (SATS), the operator of Senai International Airport in Johor, expects to be profitable this year, seven years after securing the concession in 2003.

Deputy chief executive officer Shahrull Allam Shah Abdul Halim said the Senai free zone, the aviation park and the soon-to-be-opened Aeromall woud be the main drivers of growth for the firm.

"We are positive on the outlook for this year. We will have a positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation for the fiscal year ending December 31 2010," he told Business Times.

While the firm is operationally profitable, it has been in the red due to interest payments on loans it took to buy 1,120ha of plantation land next to the airport. The land is to be developed into a US$1.18 billion high-tech park, with a loan repayment period of over 10 years.

Shahrull said SATS broke even last year on $17.73 million revenue, attributing it to its turnaround measures.

The firm's revenue is mainly contributed by its aeronautical business and the rest from non-aeronautical activities such as retail and land development.

However, it expects the composition of revenue to change in the future.

Construction and infrastructure developments on the high-tech park will begin next month.

SATS also has 4ha of land fronting Senai Airport where it will build a 200-room hotel, apartments, offices and retail lots. Next to this, SATS has a 8ha site to be developed as an international trade centre, together with the Wenzhou Association of China.

The development of the Aeromall on a 20ha site, annexed to Senai Airport, is 65 per cent completed and targeted to open in the third quarter of 2010.

Shahrull said he expects the development to finish by end-June, which is six months behind target.

Aeromall is an extension to the existing terminal. The single-storey triangular structure with a central concourse area will be flanked by thematically designed retail and food outlets covering total retail space of 83,375 sq ft.

ECONOMICS OF OPERATIONS

Jetstar teams up with AirAsia, Services sector still struggling: Economy Roundup
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 11:11
Patrick Stafford

Jetstar has formed an alliance with budget carrier AirAsia in order to cut costs, which will see the two companies produce a joint specification list for a new generation of aircraft.

Additionally, the two companies will also develop arrangements for passenger and ground handling, and will combine inventories for aircraft components and spare parts.

"Jetstar and AirAsia offer unmatched reach in the Asia Pacific region, with more routes and lower fares than their main competitors, and this new alliance will enable them to maximise that scale," Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement to the ASX.

"Just as both carriers have pioneered the development of the low cost, long haul airline model, today's announcement breaks the mould of traditional airline alliances and establishes a new model for achieving reduced costs and increased efficiency."

Joyce also said after a press announcement the alliance would remain non-equity, but there could be arrangements made to look at co-share deals.

Also in the travel industry, Webjet shares have risen following an announcement from the company detailing a lift in the value of ticket sales for the first half of the financial year.

The company's performance has also prompted investors to expect similar results from Flight Centre and Wotif, both of which could amend their guidance statements.

Webjet announced a 37% rise in the value of ticket sales to $248 million, with managing director David Clarke saying the figures "totally defied" the downturn.

''We are seeing a massive increase in shopping activity, which would suggest pent-up demand, but we are not necessarily seeing that same growth in bookings yet,'' he told The Age. ''Consumers are still hoping that fares will go back to July levels [when they reached decade lows].''

Shipping Outlook

Shippers set sail for better times
After sailing through choppy waters this year, the shipping industry seems to be heading towards recovery next year, buoyed by increasing global trade.

The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs for commodities, was at its lowest on Jan 5 this year at 772 points from the record high of 11,793 points on May 20, 2008.

The Shipping Association Malaysia predicted in the middle of this year a 20% contraction of throughput volume by year-end due to the fall in demand and overcapacity.

At the height of the global economic downturn in the first quarter, container shipping freight rates – usually determined by demand for goods from Asia to the West – had dropped 50% to 80% from the previous quarter.

Maritime Institute of Malaysia senior fellow Nazery Khalid said barring any wild swings in the global economy and major shifts in the geo-political order, 2010 would be the year when shipping markets recover.

“Next year, global trade should pick up steam on the back of growing consumer confidence and consumption, as well as a rebound in business, manufacturing and production activities.

“Ports should register higher throughput volume compared with this year and more money should flow into shipping while shipyards should start to see a pick-up in orders,” he told StarBiz.

This would also benefit support service providers and players along the logistics chain such as freight forwarders and hauliers, Nazery said.

“Players in the sectors that have performed well amid the shipping slump, such as those in the tanker and offshore support vessel sectors, should continue sailing smoothly.”

However, Nazery said, amid the bullish forecast, players should not forget the bitter lessons from the economic recession.

“They should be mindful of their own contribution to one of the worst slumps in the history of modern merchant shipping.

“Unrestrained expansion, excessive speculation, reckless business decisions and greed on the part of shipowners and many other players in the maritime sector had contributed significantly to the severe overcapacity in the industry after enjoying a period of tremendous growth prior to the crash,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gagasan Carriers Sdn Bhd expects the shipping industry to see rates increasing in the second half of next year.

Managing director Captain Johari Mohd Noh said the industry went through a period of shock as a result of the US credit and financial crisis.

He noted that the past one year had been very challenging, with low freight rates and rising costs.

Additionally, financial institutions became “super prudent” in this trying time, thus making things worse, he said.

“But on a positive note, we are currently seeing some supply side adjustments due to an increase in (ship) scrapping, some cancellation of new (ship) buildings and an almost stagnant new orders.

“The recovery depends on an increase in confidence in the financial sectors and positive economic growth in major economies which we hope to see in the first half of next year.

“With that, the shipping industry should see rates increasing starting from the second half of 2010,” he said.

On the lessons to be learned from the crisis, Johari said there should be a better understanding between financial institutions and local shipping companies.

“A win-win solution is vital to ensure the survival of local shipping companies and that financial institutions continue to make their lending feasible in the long run.

“Additionally, the Government’s intervention is required to safeguard the survival of local shipping companies for long-term growth of the maritime industry,” he said.

A special fund should also be allocated not to rescue but to help struggling local shipping companies weather the current crisis, he added.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, in a recent report, said the creditworthiness of transportation companies in the Asia-Pacific remained under downward pressure amid a significant slowdown in transport volume and intensifying pricing pressure.

“Standard & Poor’s has made seven rating downgrades and three downward outlook revisions or credit watch listings with negative implications over the last six months among regional transportation companies.

“The recovery prospect in cargo volume looks weak, given the fragile global economy,” it said.

Source: StarBiz