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Blazing the trail, Pelabuhan Tanjung
Pelepas, which last year posted 30
per cent increase in throughput to
2.66 million TEUs, has now emerged
as Malaysia's top container port as
well as staking a claim for the
world's fastest growing port.
The newest Malaysian port, which
commenced operations only in the
first quarter of 2000, has recorded
a runaway growth level unseen and
unprecedented in any part of the
world and proudly enters the elite
group of world's top 20 container
ports that took decades to enter.
PTP, which overlooks the world's
second largest container port,
Singapore, handled a total of about
500,000 TEUs in the first partial
year in 2000 and went on to handle
an unprecedented 2.05 million TEUs
in 2001, the first full year of
operations.
With the additional 600,000 TEUs
handled in 2002 totaling 2.66
million TEUs, PTP dethroned
Northport at Port Klang for the
number one position.
PTP sourced its growth from only two
main customers - the Danish-owned
Maersk-Sealand and the
Taiwanese-owned Evergreen.
The port accounted for less than 5
per cent of its throughput to the
national trade with the bulk of
containers handled comprised
transshipment traffic, namely acting
as a hub for ships relaying
containers from (and to) regional
ports to final destinations.
The port attributed its strong
growth to the shift of Evergreen in
late August 2002 from Singapore,
which only a year before that lost
its number one customer - Maersk
Sealand.
Evergreen was Singapore's second
main customer before it decided to
hub its mainline services out of PTP.
PTP's chief executive officer of,
Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said, the
port's high productivity rising
amidst high volumes also
demonstrates PTP's excellence in
fast gaining its status as S.E.
Asia's leading transhipment hub.
Based on the traffic volume to be
generated by Evergreen for the full
year in 2003, PTP is confident of
achieving a further 30 per cent
year-on-year growth and post a
traffic volume that could breach 3.5
million TEUs mark.
To handle these increasing volumes,
the port has embarked on the
development of Phase 2 where
reclamation of an additional 8
berths and the physical construction
of 2 berths are underway.
The completion of the additional two
berths will enable PTP to handle
approximately six million TEUs
annually by early year 2004.
The vulnerability of its
over-reliance on transshipment as
well as its dependence on a narrow
customer base is obvious at PTP,
which it has no doubt started to
address.
There is a need to create stronger
linkages, especially in promoting
the growth of more value-adding
services and activities at the port
and develop a broader customer base.
Mohd Sidik said the company's
current focus is to aggressively
attract logistics players and
investors in PTP's large land bank
including the free industrial zone
and the distribution park.
Companies engaged in distribution
have been showing interest to
develop distribution hub at the port
which has excellent infrastructure
links, including road and rail
linking the national grid.
The shifting of BMW to PTP as an
example will also lead towards
increasing PTP's competitiveness in
attracting other major international
players to base their operations and
distribution in PTP, he added.
PTP currently offers six berths of
360 metres each in length backed by
one of the largest container yards
in the region with a storage
capacity of 110,000 TEUs.
Operational equipment includes 24
Super Post Panamax quay cranes, 10
of which have a 22-box outreach. |
