Strategy to Build a Transshipment Port as a Catalyst to Achieving Critical Mass for Sabah’s Economic Growth

Digital transformation has led to a new era of port development at an unprecedented pace. China represents a large percentage of total global trades, navigating the maritime silk-road to various global and regional ports. In Malaysia, the lack of concrete justifications for the issue of transhipment port strategy leads to a debatable framework. Hence, the aim of the paper is to critically discuss the strategy to build a transhipment port as a catalyst to achieving critical mass for economic growth in Sabah. The study draws heavily on existing literature on the theoretical evidence and the possible factors that shape strategy to build transshipment port in Sabah. Based on reviewed literature, various resultant strategies adopted to stand for their interest are discussed. In this way, this paper provides not only theoretical insights, but also strategically guides managers of organisations in Sabah, government, and businesses values towards building a transshipment port in Sabah to effectively retire cabotage policy to reduce cost, enhance port throughput, develop hinterland for critical mass, enhance ports-economic clusters connectivity, eliminate capacity bottleneck, unlock natural resources export potential, align port service towards regional port users’ needs and to give regional port powers a run for their money.