Dawn of new growth phase
The Star
IS 2006 going to be a better year for your company, the economy and you personally?
I expect 2006 to be an excellent year for PTP. Our growth from 2000 to 2004 has been astounding; no other port that has grown from zero to four million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) within four years.
Over the last 10 months, we have focused on further improving productivity, enhancing turnaround time and increasing value-added services.
The shipping market is going through significant changes with new vessel deliveries and we should see the larger 9,000-TEU-vessel class being put into operations next year.
The market is also in a busy period of consolidation through acquisitions.
From a South-East Asian terminal viewpoint, the larger vessels and the consolidation will mean greater opportunities for a newly designed port such as PTP.
Today, the liners see PTP as being able to provide easy access to capacity and with much better turnaround time.
Next year will also see PTP growing the terminal business further, with new product offerings and leveraging on the development of our Free Zone.
In terms of growth, Malaysia needs to move away from the traditional model and look for new economic drivers.
PTP and south-west Johor promise to offer this new driver as the area has been marked as an industrial, maritime and logistics centre.
It is thus becoming an attractive investment centre to drive Malaysia into the future.
Personally, 2006 would be an exciting year working with the PTP team to further develop the business and contribute to the industry, community and the nation.
What would be top on your list of priorities for the coming year?
The priority for PTP is to continue to grow as the premier port in the region.
As vessel sizes increase, PTP is well positioned to be the market leader for service delivery such as rapid turnaround time and best in class moves per hour with high berth capacity.
This will provide liners the overall operational efficiency, leading to significant cost savings in terms of vessel operations.
The liners are also aware that PTP has the flexibility to expand and fully meet their future needs.
People are core to the sustainable success of the business and this is the other area we shall focus on.
We will enhance the PTP teamwork further and align everyone to deliver the satisfaction expected by our customers.
Cost management and operational efficiency are also important so that PTP would be able to deliver all the services requested by customers while delivering the expected return on investment to shareholders.
Are you going to invest more in 2006?
We would expand the terminal capacity by another two million TEUs with the completion of berths 9 and 10 in the third quarter of 2006 and the delivery of eight new container quay cranes in 2006.
In parallel, the Free Zone would be further developed with the construction of new plants and warehouses.
Please share some of your plans in relation to energy conservation, which has emerged as a major theme.
There is a need to use energy efficiently and move away from traditional forms of non-renewable energy.
For the latter, there is a need to develop and support alternate fuel sources like natural gas or renewables such as ethanol, biodiesel and hydrogen.
For biodiesel, Malaysia is well positioned with a plentiful source of palm oil as a viable alternative.
We also have plenty of sunshine as a source of solar energy to produce electricity or hot water.
PTP is a large consumer of energy from electricity and diesel, especially in the terminal operations. We have taken steps to reduce energy consumption with the use of more efficient cranes fitted with energy-harmonic filters and training of the crane operators.
On a wider scale, we are evaluating the use of natural gas for air-conditioning and power supply.
Finally, a mindset change is critical for success and we are developing strategies to change the behaviour of our staff with the help of two certified energy managers, who are part of our team.