Port of Tanjung Pelepas Seeks Another RM4b For Capex

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13  -- Johor's Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), one of the fastest growing ports worldwide, is looking for another RM4 billion in capital expenditure (capex) in the next five years for its expansion plan.

Its chief executive officer Captain Ismail Hashim said RM2.5 billion was allocated under the first phase of the expansion plan and PTP was looking at another RM4 billion for phase two. "For further expansion we have to see as we move along," he told Bernama in an interview.

On current developments, Ismail said in terms of construction of facilities, PTP was now in the process of completing Berth 11 and 12. "We should be completing Berth 11 in the second quarter this year and Berth 12 in the third quarter," he said.

Ismail said PTP had ordered eight key cranes, with four of them due to arrive in the second quarter this year and the remaining four in the third quarter. Other new equipment included 20 rubber tyred gantry cranes scheduled to arrive in the third quarter this year and 50 prime movers early this year, he said.

"So with all these equipment, we should be able to handle about 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on 12 berths for customers," Ismail said. "We have a significant capacity and at the same time more to sell for new potential customers," he said.

According to him, PTP is also looking for additional manpower. "We will be adding 200 to 400 employees," he said.

In the wake of the global economic slowdown, Ismail said PTP was looking at new businesses this year to improve revenue. "The financial crisis is affecting most shipping lines and they are keen to hear options or alternatives which can improve their cost structure," he said.

Ismail said PTP was also working aggressively to attract more shipping lines. "In fact, the global economic crisis is also an opportunity in the sense that shipping lines have to look at their operating situations and we have the capacity to offer them competitive pricing," he said.

PTP, he added, was also able to provide faster turnaround and minimal waiting time for berths so that shipping vessels could move in a more productive manner.

For this year, PTP was looking at a similar level of business from its existing customers, Ismail said. "We are looking at getting new business with the surplus of two to three million TEU capacity that we will have by the second half of this year," he said.

On the challenges ahead, Ismail said that PTP has a good masterplan for moving forward in the long term. "It is geared up towards high growth and we can grow up to five times what we are today," he said.

"We also feel that the current economic challenges may be a time to conserve our resources so that we will be more resilient and stronger after the crisis and be able to position ourselves for the opportunities then," he added