Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) expects double-digit growth in the volume of containers it handles next year, said chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman.  

In line with its expected increase in container throughput, he said the company plans to invest RM1.3bil to further expand the port into a “dynamic regional distribution and consolidation centre for logistics”. 

The company recently secured a loan of RM741mil from Bank Pembangunan dan Infrastructure Malaysia Bhd (BPIM) to partly finance this expansion. 

“We started expanding the port three years ago and expect to complete two more berths by the middle of next year,” he said during the PTP-BPIM loan-signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. 

He said more quay cranes and other equipment would be purchased to cater for operations at its new berths.  
This loan is the third facility granted by BPIM, which brings the total amount extended to PTP to RM1.89bil, said the bank’s managing director, Abdul Rahim Mohd Zin. He said this loan would be funded by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation fund.  

According to Mohd Sidik, PTP expects a 10% increase in total container throughput this year. The company, which competes with Singapore for South-East Asia’s sea freight, had already seen an increase of 3.4% in container volume for the first half of this year compared with the corresponding period last year. 

PTP, said to be among the fastest growing container ports in the world, reported record traffic of 4.02 million TEUs (20-ft equivalent units) last year.