PTP to begin construction of RM3b project
New Straits Times
Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), touted as the premier Southeast Asian transhipment hub of the future, is set to begin construction on its RM3 billion Phase Two project with the year.
Chief Executive Officer Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said the second phase would involve construction of six berths with a maximum capacity of 600,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) each per annum.
The second leg of PTP’s development would include land reclamation, construction of a container yard, an operations building, terminals and acquisition of gantries and quayside cranes.
“We will begin works on the new 240 hectare phase one approval from the relevant authorities has been obtained.
“We expect the phase to be fully operational by 2004,” said Mohd Sidik.
By that year, the port would be handling between six and seven million TEUs of containers annually through the 12 berths available under both Phase One and Two.
“The port offers quality and efficient services at 30 per cent cheaper that other major ports in the region,” he said, highlighting PTP’s competitiveness.
PTP’s staff size would also increase in accordance with the rate of completion of the new phase.
“In December last year, we had about 400 people on our payroll. Right now we are functioning with 1,500 staff.”
The CEO was speaking to reporters during Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman’s visit to the port yesterday.
Also present were PTP chairman Datuk Mohd Taufik Abdullah and State executive council members.
Abdul Ghani was impressed with the speedy growth rate of PTP during its 18 months of operations, saying that the spill over effect of the port’s development would be enjoyed by nearby industrial area.
PTP together with nearby Bandar Nusajaya, tipped as the State’s future administrative capital, spans a 12,000-ha area and will be developed in stages.
Joint development of the two projects holds much potential as the “cannot be a better place for future development in Johor”.
PTP, which handled one million TEUs in the first seven months of the year, is the fastest growing port in the world.
It was developed to east the overcrowding at Johor Port in Pasir Gudang, to capitalize on the booming worldwide container transhipment trade and to stem the flow of Malaysian cargo via foreign ports.