DANISH shipping giant Maersk is to invest more than US$500 million in expanding its supply chain infrastructure to support Southeast Asia's emergence as a global production hub and a consumption powerhouse, reports Greece's Container News .

The three-year investment plan will target its Logistics & Services arm, but at the same time, a significant amount of investment will also be channeled into its Ocean and Terminals infrastructure.

Maersk believes the investment will create job opportunities for local talents on top of automation efficiencies and scale the company's existing network footprint in the region.

Vincent Clerc, CEO of Maersk, commented: "Southeast Asia is the fastest growing area in Asia Pacific. A digitally savvy population, coupled with an e-commerce boom, Government's efforts to capitalize on global manufacturing diversification, growing regional brands, and rising inter-regional trade is spurring sustained growth in this area."

Maersk will invest in scaling its warehousing and distribution footprint by up to 50 per cent across the area to augment its ocean, air and land capabilities, serving both international and domestic markets and demand. By 2026, Maersk expects to add nearly 480,000 square metres capacity spread across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

One of the notable investments will be at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia, where it is poised to become a key integrated logistics hub with multi-modal connectivity. Furthermore, Maersk is also investing in increasing its landside warehouse capacity at Singapore's Changi Airport.

On landside connectivity, Maersk will invest in increasing its haulage truck capacity in Southeast Asia with the capability to offer greener solutions depending on its customers' needs. It will also pilot biodiesel-based haulage trucks and introduce EV trucks by 2024.