The economy of the Malaysian state of Johor is thriving. A large portion of Johor’s economic activity is facilitated by the maritime transportation sector.

Johor Port, the busiest of the state’s ports, has made a major contribution to overall development. Johor Port’s expansion plans will ensure it is central to the continued growth of the southern region.

Economy of Johor

At the southernmost tip of Peninsular Malaysia lies the state of Johor. Wrapping around the island nation of Singapore, Johor is an economic powerhouse unto itself. Boasting a GDP of approximately 20 billion dollars annually, and growing at 5% or more each year, Johor continues to expand onto the regional and global economic stage.

This growth is fueled by a number of strong industries, such as finance, ICT, and biotechnology, most of which are located in the state capital, Johor Bahru. The main strength of Johor, however, is manufacturing, especially in the food and agriculture, petrochemical, and electronics industries. The key sector enabling all of this activity is the maritime, shipping, and logistics industry.

Maritime Sector

A large portion of Johor’s economic activity is supported and facilitated by Johor’s thriving maritime transportation sector.

Looking at the location, we are towards the eastern side of the Strait of Johor, and of course, we are in the midst of the East and West international trade lane. But given the infrastructure that we have today, Johor Port mainly focuses on Intra-Asia trade. So our connectivity is mainly to connect from here to the ASEAN and also the Intra-Asia region.

Shahrull Allam Shah, CEO, Johor Port Berhad

The heart of this activity is the Iskandar region – a development area that encompasses five flagship zones and the major ports within them. Together, the ports of Johor see millions of tonnes of products each year, and offer companies with assistance in processing, packaging, and warehousing their goods.

The port is the agent for development. I mean, you can see that the industrial, the residential, the commercial development in a way started from the port. So wherever you have ports, it will create development. So a port is the catalyst for development.

Shahrull Allam Shah, CEO, Johor Port Berhad

Whether it be containers, liquids, or other cargo, Johor is a major waypoint and destination for companies in the region and beyond. And as an emerging leader in shipping technologies, Johor is home to increasingly advanced transportation and logistics systems.

Ports acting as a catalyst for development in Malaysia’s southern Johor state is originally published by and copyright of The Prospect Group.