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Kuala Lumpur / Tribune News Service
Logistics operators in south Thailand have lost almost 100 million baht (US$2.8 million) over the past six to seven months as container trucks take six to eight hours to cross the border into Malaysia from Songkhla’s Sadao district, the Association of Southern Logistics and Transportation said.
This was because the Malaysian checkpoint is undergoing renovation that could last two years, it said, urging policymakers to negotiate for solutions before such delays affect customers’ confidence, as operational-level talks so far have failed to yield any concrete solutions.
Association secretary-general Pairoj Chaichiratikul cited the findings by a working team assigned by the Songkhla governor to solve the Sadao checkpoint issue. While part of the problem stemmed from traffic regulation on the Thai side, it was mostly due to Malaysia’s closure of access to its checkpoint. Hence trucks spent six to eight hours to pass through, and each day there were about 500 trucks in the queue.
“We estimate damages of almost 100 million baht in the past seven to eight months as there were additional costs of petrol for trucks waiting in the queue, overnight stays for drivers, and damage to goods such as fruits and vegetables,†he said.
Representatives of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) coordination office in Kuala Lumpur and of the Asian Development Bank who inspected the problem on June 9 promised to table this matter at the IMT-GT meeting in Phang Nga this September, he said. However, the association wants policymakers to try to find solutions faster.
NY Transport executive Panu Khaopiumjit said the issue that largely stemmed from Malaysian operations greatly affected Thai logistics operators but they couldn’t do anything. “Eighty per cent of the export goods from Surat Thani downwards must pass through the Malaysian port of Penang, so trucks transporting such goods must pass through the Sadao or the Padang Besar checkpoint. The former was more popular because of the latter’s restrictions,†Panu explained.
The problem’s adverse impacts include higher costs in terms of petrol and time, delivery delays to ships, forcing postponements and extra expenses and document corrections, the loss of credibility among foreigner customers unhappy with the delays, and effects to southern exporters’ competitiveness, according to Panu.