Singapore, April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Tanjung Pelepas port, Malaysia's newest port, said cargo volume grew 45 percent in the first quarter from the final quarter of 2000, and it expects to meet its full-year volume target.

The port handled 386,394 twenty-foot equivalent units, a standard container size, from January to March, compared with 267,176 containers in October to December. It had handled only 29,848 containers in the first quarter of last year, after the start of commercial operations on Jan. 1, 2000.

Pelepas, located at the southern end of peninsular Malaysia, has tried to establish itself as a cheaper alternative to ports in nearby Singapore. A partnership with Maersk Sealand, a unit of A.P. Moeller, the world's largest shipping company, was a major coup for the port last year because the company had been one of Singapore port's main customers.

Monthly volumes at Pelepas reached 148,000 containers in March, and are now expected to grow by between 15 percent and 20 percent from May, the company said.

That will keep the port on target for a full-year volume of 2 million containers, up from 418,218 in 2000. Maersk, which owns a 30 percent stake in Tanjung Pelepas and accounts for more than 80 percent of container traffic there, is boosting its business at the port.

``The volume growth we expect in May this year is from additional services from Maersk Sealand and other present customers, including feeders,'' port Chief Executive Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said.

The port has increased capacity by buying additional cranes and other ancillary equipment. By year-end, 10 more quay cranes and 36 gantry cranes will be added to increase annual handling capacity to 4.5 million containers from about 2.5 million today.