PTP executive chairman Datuk Mohd Taufik Abdullah officially received the licence from Minister of Entrepreneur Development Datuk Nazri Abdul Aziz at a simple ceremony at the project site in Gelang Patah yesterday.

Also present were PTP Chief Executive Officer Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman and Johor State Executive Councillor Md Salikon Sarpin.

Nazri said the PTP haulage licence was among eight new licences issued to ports nationwide and members of Container of Haulage Association of Malaysia (CHAM) since beginning of the year.

"The licence entitles PTP to have 20 prime movers, 140 laden trailers and 70 unladen trailers, " said Nazri, adding that the ministry was aware of the importance of adequate haulage facilities in a port to gain a competitive edge.

Previously; the haulage business was virtually monopolised by five major haulage companies in the country, namely Kontena Perkapalan, Diperdana Corporation, Multimodal Freight and MISC Haulage Services.

Seven other small players also had licences to operate a fleet to serve ports in the country.

"The issuance of these licences means that there will now be an additional 341 prime movers in the country," said Nazri.

He added that the ministry would consider expanding the number of prime movers at PTP in time to come.

The handing over ceremony was followed by a visit to the port where Nazri was impressed with PTP's linear wharf structure and port operating facilities, such as the Port Administration Building and the Container Terminal Yard.

PTP will be officially opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

Phase One of PTP comprising six berths and 2.16km in linear wharf is scheduled for full completion by mid 2001.

Currently, two berths are operational with six super post-panamax quayside cranes.

The port will have an annual handling capacity of 3.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) upon completion of Phase One.