<P> Klang was formerly the terminus of the government railway and the port of the State . In 1880, the state capital of Selangor was moved from Klang to the more strategically advantageous Kuala Lumpur . Rapid development at the new administrative centre in the late 1800s attracted businessmen and job seekers alike from Klang . At this time the only methods of transport between Klang and Kuala Lumpur were by horse or buffalo drawn wagons, or boat ride along the Klang River to Damansara . Due to this Frank Swettenham stated to Selangor's British Resident at the time, William Bloomfield Douglas, that the journey to Kuala Lumpur was "rather long and boring". He continued to suggest a train line be built as an alternative route . </P> <P> In September 1882, Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham was appointed Selangor's new Resident . Swettenham initiated a rail link between Klang and Kuala Lumpur to overcome the transport problems particularly of the tin mining interests, who needed to convey the ore to Klang's port, Pelabuhan Batu . Nineteen and a half miles of rail track from Kuala Lumpur to Bukit Kudu was opened in September 1886, and extended 3 miles to Klang in 1890 . </P> <P>. The river navigation, however, was difficult as only ships drawing less than 3.9 metres (13 ft) of water could come up the jetty, and thus a new port was selected near the mouth of the river as the anchorage was good . Developed by the Malayan Railway and officially opened 15 years later on 15 September 1901 by Swettenham himself, the new port was named Port Swettenham . </P> <P> Both Klang and Port Swettenham were already known as notoriously malaria prone localities with the port itself located on a mangrove swamp . Within two months of its opening, the port was closed due to an outbreak of malaria . Just a few years before, the British doctor Sir Ronald Ross proved in 1897 that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes . Port Swettenham was the first colonial area to benefit from the discovery . Swamps were filled in, jungle cleared, and surface water diverted to destroy mosquito breeding grounds and combat further disruption to port operations . The threat of malaria was removed completely by the end of the exercise . Trade grew rapidly and two new berths were added by 1914 along with other port facilities . The Selangor Polo Club was founded in Port Swettenham in 1902 but it moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1911 . </P>

Characteristics of port klang as a hub port