The agreement, signed on October 17, was followed a month later by the announcement that the Malaysian Mining Corp had purchased a 50.1% stake in the port. Logistics giant Maersk Sealand bought a 30% stake in the port in August, and shifted its regional hub to PTP from Singapore.

Under the new agreement, PTP will build a major warehousing facility to Kenwood's requirements, and then sub-lease it to the company for Kenwood to manage and operate. Construction on the 15,050 sq meters complex has begun, with completion scheduled for March 2001.

The Kenwood warehouse is located in PTP's Distripark, sited directly behind the container yard. Some 170 acres of land is available for immediate development, with infrastructure already in place, and ultimately, 400 acres of land is available for distribution activities.

Two-way railway tracks are being built to link the Distripark and the Container Yard, and on completion will join the national rail system at Kempas near Johor Bahru.