PTP set to breach 2m teu mark ahead of schedule
Maritime Asia Today
MALAYSIA - The fast-growing Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) will smash through the two million teu mark this year, said chief executive officer Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman.
PTP, which operates a port in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, will reach the 2.1m teu mark by the end of December in the first full calendar year of operations since it opened in March 2000. "It looks like we will breach that figure slightly before the end of this year," the port chief told a news conference. The PTP executive said he expected growth to continue next year, forecasting an increase of between four and five percent. The port must hold the record for the largest throughput in a first full year of container handling. Mohd Sidik said the company would also be pursuing other shipping companies in addition to its existing major client and part-owner Maersk Sealand. "We also think that there will be other shipping lines which could be interested in us. We expect other lines also to be calling," Mohd Sidik said. Taiwan's Evergreen Marine is studying the possibility of moving its transshipment hub from Singapore to PTP. Mohd Sidik did not comment about the progress in Malaysia Mining Corp's deal to buy a controlling 50.1% stake in PTP. Malaysia Mining Corp signed an agreement last week to buy the stake for 1.61 billion ringgit ($424m) in cash and shares from Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd.