Sepanggar Bay Container Port Expansion
What is the Sepanggar Bay Container Port expansion?
It is a federally funded project to expand Sabah's only international container port, with RM1.03 billion approved and a construction contract worth RM899.8 million. The work raises annual capacity from 500,000 TEU towards a two-stage target of 1.25 million TEU. It was originally due in early 2025; by June 2026 it was roughly 60% complete, with completion now expected in October 2027.
What is the Sepanggar port expansion?
The Sapangar Bay Container Port is the main maritime gateway for the state of Sabah, and it is currently undergoing a major expansion. RM1.03 billion was approved for it federally, and the construction contract was awarded at RM899.8 million. The port itself handled 396,694 containers in 2025.
Throughout this page, container volumes are measured in TEU, short for twenty-foot equivalent unit. One TEU represents a single standard 20-foot shipping container, so when a port quotes its capacity in TEU it is describing how many of those containers it can process in a year. It is the universal yardstick for comparing container ports.
The expansion is a federal government project, managed by SEDIA, with the building work carried out by a joint venture between WCT and China Communications Construction Company. The port itself is owned by the Sabah Ports Authority, and Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd is its concessionaire. The work was first due in early 2025. Sand of the right specification for the reclamation proved hard to source, and by June 2026 the project stood at roughly 60% complete — SuriaGroup reported about 60.3%, Bernama 62.75% — with completion now expected in October 2027. For Sabah, this is one of the most consequential pieces of trade infrastructure in a generation, because it directly determines how easily the state's goods can reach world markets.
Capacity before and after
The headline outcome of the project is a step change in throughput. The table below sets out the before-and-after figures:
| Measure | Capacity |
|---|---|
| Current annual capacity | 500,000 TEU |
| Target annual capacity | 1.25 million TEU |
Lifting capacity from 500,000 to 1.25 million TEU represents roughly a two-and-a-half-fold increase, delivered in two stages — the first taking capacity to about 850,000 TEU. That additional headroom matters, and it is already needed: the port moved 396,694 containers in 2025, which is about four fifths of its present ceiling. A port operating near its limit becomes a bottleneck, with ships waiting and exporters facing delays.
The DP World partnership
DP World, the Dubai-based global port and logistics operator, has run the terminal since September 2024 through DPW Sabah Sdn Bhd, a joint venture in which DP World holds 51% and Sabah Ports 49%. It was DP World's first venture in Malaysia. Sabah Ports remains the concessionaire. DP World's role is operational: it did not fund or build the expansion, which is a separate, federally financed project.
Bringing in an experienced global terminal operator like DP World can speed up modernisation, improve efficiency and connect Sepanggar more closely to international shipping networks — benefits that are harder to achieve through a standalone local upgrade.
The two strands run alongside each other: the Sabah Ports Authority delivers the physical expansion, while DPW Sabah is expected to lift day-to-day performance, from cargo handling to logistics systems.
Why it matters for Sabah exports
Sepanggar is the only international container port in Sabah, which makes it the single most important link between the state's producers and overseas buyers. Almost anything Sabah exports in containers passes through here.
The port is critical for the export of the state's signature commodities and goods, including:
- Palm oil and palm-based products
- Timber and wood products
- Cocoa
- Manufactured goods, including output from nearby industrial parks
Because so much of Sabah's export economy depends on this one facility, expanding it is about more than handling extra boxes. It safeguards the competitiveness of the state's key industries by ensuring they can move products to market reliably and at scale.
The infrastructure upgrades
The RM1.03 billion expansion covers a series of physical and technological improvements to the port, including reclamation to extend the container yard. The main upgrades include:
- New container berths to allow more vessels to dock and be worked at once.
- An expanded container yard with additional stacking equipment to store more containers on site.
- Upgraded gantry cranes to speed up loading and unloading of ships.
- Enhanced ICT systems for port logistics, improving the tracking and coordination of cargo.
Together, these elements work as a package. More berths and cranes increase how quickly ships can be served, the larger yard provides somewhere to put the extra containers, and the improved ICT systems tie it all together so that the higher throughput can actually be managed efficiently.
Role in BIMP-EAGA trade
Beyond serving Sabah itself, Sepanggar is positioned as a gateway for trade across the BIMP-EAGA region — the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area. This is a regional cooperation grouping that aims to deepen economic links between these neighbouring territories.
A larger, more efficient Sepanggar port strengthens that role. With more capacity and modern handling systems, the port is better able to serve as a regional transhipment and trade point, helping connect the eastern ASEAN economies and reinforcing Sabah's position within this growth area.