PTP breaks five million TEU

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in southern Malaysia achieved another milestone in 2007, with its container traffic surging above five million TEU for the first time. The total 5.5 million TEU processed was up 14.6% on the 4.8 million TEU handled in 2006.

Harun Johari, the ceo of PTP, attributed the strong performance to good organic growth from its existing customers and to a very bullish Far East/Europe trade. Maersk Line and Evergreen Line, both significant players on this route, are also PTP’s largest customers.

He is confident that the growth scenario will continue, with the global trade in containers expected to rise by between 8% and 10% per annum for each of the next five years.

‘It is, therefore, important for ports to invest in capacity in a timely manner to ensure they do not become the bottleneck in the supply chain,’ he said. ‘We took delivery of four new quay cranes and eight rubber-tyred gantry cranes in 2007 and we have placed orders for other equipment that will be progressively delivered in 2008.’

Further developments include the construction of another two berths plus a deepening of the access channel to handle even bigger ships.

Johari also referred to the significance of the free trade zone in encouraging cargo volumes.

‘We now have more than 50 global brands operating a diverse range of businesses within our zone,’ he said. ‘To accommodate the growing interest of potential investors, we are now actively developing additional land to meet the demand.’

PTP is majority controlled by MMC (Malaysian Mining Corp - 70%) with the AP Moller-Maersk group also involved.

by John Fossey