Malaysia’s RM370 million Perlis hub aims to make rail the new fast lane for China-Asean freight
There are challenges, however, including delays due to border-crossing bottlenecks and lack of digital data interoperability
[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia is staking RM370 million (S$113.6 million) on a multimodal logistics hub in Perlis near the Thai border to capture long-haul freight, ranging from rubber to semiconductor chips.
As the country boosts its ability to ride the broader recalibration of regional supply chains, it is also hoping that rail shipments from the hub will outpace those by sea.
The Perlis Inland Port (PIP) is slated to begin partial commercial operations in November. It is targeted at cutting the Chongqing-Malaysia transit from about 13 days to under a week, to capture higher-value cargo.
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