REPORT BY THE ADJUDICATION COMMITTEE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS REVIEW ASEAN AWARDS 2022
TAN SRI G. GNANALINGAM
FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, WESTPORTS HOLDINGS BERHAD
AWARD FOR A LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT
When Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam envisioned building a container terminal at Pulau Indah in 1993, the tiny island off the west coast of Klang, Selangor was nothing more than a mostly barren piece of land. All it had then were just mangrove swamps and a scattering of small Orang Asli (indigenous) villages. Today, it is a key logistics and industrial hub,
And this tremendous growth over the past three decades can be attributed to the socio-economic activity that has been generated by Tan Sri Gnanalingam’s brainchild – Westports – the largest container terminal in Malaysia and Southeast Asia’s second largest transhipment hub.
To better understand the impact that Westports has made, we need to consider how things were before it commenced operations in 1994. Back then, major international shipping lines were by-passing Port Klang owing to the lack of adequate transhipment facilities and capabilities. This resulted in billions of ringgit in lost potential revenue as well as extra time and costs as importers and exporters had to travel all the way to Singapore to do so.
It was Tan Sri Gnanalingam who introduced industry best practices to Westports, and in doing so, ensured that it is able to quickly and efficiently handle customers’ cargo. And this is reflected in how Westports is able to move up to 800 boxes in the first hour compared to the industry average of 30 to 40 boxes. As such, some of the world’s largest shipping lines such as CMA CGM, Cosco, OOCL, Evergreen, Yang Ming, PIL, ONE and Hyundai now call on Westports.
Before Westports, Port Klang was the 27th busiest port in the world. Today, it is the 12th busiest, and the 11 million containers that Westports handles each year is the main reason as to why it has risen so high. At the same time, the terminal has also been a key factor behind Malaysia being one of the top 25 trading nations in the world.
As a world-class terminal with connections to more than 350 ports around the world, Westports has helped further enhance the attraction of Southeast Asia as trading hub. And in doing so, contributed to the growth of the regional economy.
As the prime mover behind Westports, Tan Sri Gnanalingam’s vision and leadership has enabled it to do so. And that is why we are pleased to announce that Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Business Review ASEAN Awards 2022.
Congratulations Tan Sri!
