PTP On The Rise
www.tradewinds.no
Malaysia’s Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) has bucked the trend of falling volumes with a record total in 2009.
The country’s biggest terminal said throughput reached 6m teu last year, up 7.5% from 2008’s total.
Chairman Sidik Shaik Osman said: “We are fortunate to be one of very few ports in the world which recorded an increase in container volumes in 2009.”
He put the growth down to new services from existing customers Maersk and Evergreen, plus fresh volumes brought in by new signing CMA CGM of France.
There was also a 9% increase in local volume from the Johor industrial hinterland.
Looking ahead, Sidik said markets would still be challenging in 2010.
“We expect lower operational costs for shipping lines to be a key focus area,” he added.
“We do, however, see this as an opportunity for PTP when shipping lines look for more efficient and cost-effective alternatives”.