Bad idea to revive Melaka cruise terminal, says expert

 

The proposed Melaka international cruise terminal is part of the recently revived RM42 billion Melaka Gateway project. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: The low number of cruise ships calling on Melaka does not justify the construction of a large-scale cruise terminal with full-service facilities such as customs and immigration, says a consultant.

“Up to 2019 or pre-Covid-19 times, Melaka was handling about 36 cruise calls a year, so that would be three cruise vessels a month,” said cruise terminal consultant Linza Wells.

She said this figure was low as cruise calls run on a seasonal basis, adding that some cruise lines were still recovering from the pandemic.

Last week, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said the ministry was in discussions with the Melaka government to proceed with the Melaka international cruise terminal project.

The project involves reclamation works under the Melaka Gateway project, a mixed development that was supposed to be on four artificial islands with residential, commercial, cultural, entertainment and lifestyle elements.

Wells said the cruise terminal was unlikely to serve as a home port for ships or cruises due to Melaka’s location and the state’s lack of airport connectivity.

“It is more suitable to develop Melaka as a basic cruise terminal, especially since they are currently using a tender process whereby small boats attached to the cruise vessel take passengers and bring them ashore.”

However, she said this meant that earnings would be significantly lower because most passengers would not be getting off at the stop to spend time or money.

“We’re looking at only 30 to 40% of passengers getting off for perhaps three to four hours at the port,” she said. “So they would not be staying in hotels around the area either because it’s just a transit stop.”

If there was a need to build a cruise terminal, Wells said other locations along the Straits of Melaka were better suited and would not require any land reclamation work.

She said there was an area around Klebang Besar with a water depth of about 11 metres, which would allow for the construction of a “very basic” cruise terminal without having to do any reclamation.

The cruise terminal is one of three ports being built under the recently revived RM42 billion Melaka Gateway project.

Loke said the investment operating licence for the cruise terminal was previously revoked because of several issues, though the project was almost complete.

He said the ministry had received an application from the Melaka Gateway developer to revive the cruise terminal project, adding that there would be various negative implications if it was discontinued. - FMT