Malaysian marinas in troubled waters

by New Straits Times on 28 Oct 2009 The plan was ambitious - build public marinas in several locations across Malaysia to encourage marine recreational and sporting activities, and attract international yachting communities to Malaysian shores. But seven years and more than MYR263 million later, only five of the ten proposed public marinas are operational. One has not been completed, another is unusable because of siltation, and three have yet to open.

Only the marinas at Batu Uban in Penang and Pulau Tioman can be said to be success stories. And even then, Malaysians do not appear interested in taking up sailing. Almost all berths are taken up by foreigners. The Kuala Kedah marina, costing more than RM31 million, was completed in 2003 but has never been used due to serious siltation. The Muar marina, which was completed in 2005, has yet to open. It is expected to open at the end of the year. The marina in Malacca, which opened last month, is experiencing siltation. The marina in Pulau Indah, Klang, was completed this year and the Pulau Mentangor marina, near Pangkor, in 2007. Both are not operational while the Kuching marina is yet to be completed.

The Marine Department was given an allocation of more than RM309 million to build the 10 marinas. Experts say the marinas have been built at the wrong places. Malaysian Yachting Association General Manager Mohd Afendy Abdullah says most of the marinas are situated at river mouths, where erosion and siltation are bound to happen. 'The government should have taken cognizance of the problem before going ahead with construction.' Afendy says the marinas built in Kuala Kedah and Muar are not accessible to yachts and boats.

The Malacca marina, Afendy adds, is already experiencing siltation. This will reduce the depth of the waterway and render it inaccessible to yachts and boats in two to three years. 'Millions were already spent to build the marinas, now more will have to be spent on dredging.' Afendy says the government should have engaged the services of experts. 'When selecting sites, consideration must be given to factors like wind, waves, current and sandbar formation throughout the year. The experts would be the local fishermen. We should also have been consulted as we have the expertise. If in-depth studies had been undertaken before construction, we would not face this problem now.'

Royal Selangor Yacht Club General Manager John Ferguson says the choice of some of the marina sites is 'not so clever. The one in Kuala Kedah is an example. It has since become a wide beach because of siltation.'

Marine Department director-general Capt Datuk Ahmad Othman admits that some of the marinas suffer siltation problems. 'The one in Kuala Kedah is situated at the river mouth and the siltation rate is very high. Thus, the cost of maintaining the water depth is also very high. We have removed the berths until we come up with a permanent solution. We are currently using the marina office as our office,' he says.

As for the Muar marina, he says the problem is 'not as bad as in Kuala Kedah'. 'We will open that marina as soon as we obtain the certificate of fitness. This should happen by the end of the year.' The Malacca government has issued a tender to deepen the Malacca river, and this includes the area where the marina is sited.

Ahmad says the allocation for the construction of the marinas under the Eighth Malaysia Plan was MYR164,612,374. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, it is MYR144,799,655.

Construction started in 2002 with Batu Uban being the first to be completed in 2003 with 20 berths. Batu Uban, he says, is the most successful marina with 100 per cent of its berths utilised, mostly by foreigners. 'We have requested for additional berths to be built there under the 10th Malaysia Plan.'

Tioman, he says, is also a success story with all its berths fully utilised. The largest public marina, says Ahmad, is in Pulau Indah, built at a cost of almost MYR46 million. It has 120 berths and is expected to be opened by the end of the year. All the public marinas are managed by the Marine Department.

'A few interested parties have applied to the government to operate some of the marinas. But even if they are privatised, the government will ensure that the rates charged by the operators are not excessive.' The rate is MYR2 a metre per day or MYR30 a metre per month. 'So, if you have a 10-metre yacht and want to berth it for a month, the charge is only MYR300, or MYR20 a day.'

Ahmad says the department is on target to build 10 public marinas. 'It is still too early to say whether the marina project has been successful as some have yet to start operations.'

So where are the Malaysian sailors? The public marinas that are in operation are not being utilised by Malaysians. This means they are not fulfilling one of their objectives, which is to encourage Malaysians to take up boating and yachting. While it is true that the average Malaysian cannot afford to own a boat, this does not mean opportunities cannot be created for them to enjoy sailing or yachting through various programmes.

Full story:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20mali-2/Article/index_html