Port Klang

History

Klang was formerly the terminus of the government railway and the port of the State. In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur.Rapid development at the new administrative centre in the late 1800s attracted businessmen and job seekers alike from Klang. At this time the only methods of transport between Klang and Kuala Lumpur were by horse or buffalo drawn wagons, or boat ride along the Klang River to Damansara. Due to this Frank Swettenham stated to Selangor's British Resident at the time, William Bloomfield Douglas, that the journey to Kuala Lumpur was "rather long and boring". He continued to suggest a train line be built as an alternative route.

In September 1882, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham was appointed Selangor’s new Resident. Swettenham initiated a rail link between Klang and Kuala Lumpur to overcome the transport problems particularly of the tin mining interests, who needed to convey the ore to Klang's port, Pelabuhan Batu.Nineteen and a half miles of rail track from Kuala Lumpur to Bukit Kudu was opened in September 1886, and extended 3 miles to Klang in 1890

 The river navigation, however, was difficult as only ships drawing less than 3.9 metres (13 ft) of water could come up the jetty, and thus a new port was selected near the mouth of the river as the anchorage was good. Developed by the Malayan Railway and officially opened 15 years later in 15 September 1901 by Swettenham himself, the new port was named Port Swettenham.

Port Klang Authority

The Port Klang Authority administers three ports in the Port Klang area namely Northport,Southpoint and Westport. Prior to the establishment of the Port Klang Authority, South Port was the only existing port and was administered by the Malayan Railway Administration. Both Westport and Northport have been privatized and managed as separate entities.

The total capacity of the port is 109,700,000 tons of cargo in 2005 compared to 550,000 tons in 1940

Accessibility

Port Klang is served by the KTM Komuter service and trains stop at the Port Klang Komuter station. The electric train service links to Klang,Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Shah Alam and other parts of the Klang Valley.

A passenger ferry terminal to Pulau Ketam and an International terminal to Tanjung Balai and Dumai in Indonesia are also located in the area. The old ferry terminal used to serve regular passenger boats to Pulau Lumut and Telok Gonjeng terminal until the completion of Northport Bridge link.

Main roads that link the Port Klang town, Southport and housing area are Persiaran Raja Muda Musa and Jalan Pelabuhan Utara. There is a frequent bus service to Kuala Lumpur via Klang.

Port Klang Cruise Centre, Westports and the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) are located on Pulau Indah, which is accessible by road via thePulau Indah Expressway connecting to the KESAS Highway. By the year 2012, Pulau Indah will be directly connected to Malaysia'sadministrative capital, Putrajaya via the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE).

reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Klang