Deputy Finance Minister Othman Aziz said the seaport would shorten the cargo journey between the north and south Thailand.

“Today’s cargoes coming from Europe to Far East need to go to Singapore and of course they take a long time.

“So we expect that this seaport (Kuala Sanglang) and Songkhla will shorten the cargo travel time between five and seven days ” he said after attending the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kuala Banglang community hall here today.

Othman, who is also Jerlun MP, said the government had accepted the proposal from the private sector and for the time being had agreed to allow them to undertake to study and maybe implement it.

“Even our Thai counterparts also welcome the proposal,” he said.

Othman said the preliminary report said the area had sufficient depth to build ports.

Meanwhile, Kedah Menteri Besar Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said the port was a follow-up plan from the Duty Free City project at Bukit Kayu Hitam, which included the Inland Cargo Depot (ICD).

“We have to build another seaport to deliver the items at the ICD Bukit Kayu Hitam by sea to Penang and Port Klang. We have identified areas in Kedah to build this seaport,” he said.