As part of a marketing drive to extend its outreach, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is attempting to woo shippers from Malacca to use the new facilities and services offered by the port located at the south-eastern tip of Peninsular Malaysia.
 
The port said a port promotion seminar targeting manufacturing industries, mainly Ayer
Keroh, Bukit Rambai, Batu Berendam, Cheng, Alor Gajah and Merlimau was held on 2 August. 

More than 70 local manufacturers and shippers attended the seminar held at the
Renaissance Hotel, Malacca on 2 August 2001. 

PTP chief executive officer, Mohd Sidik Shaik Osman said Malacca and Negeri Sembilan are vital local markets for PTP. 

Shippers in the area would have to use haulage services to PTP for exports and imports and also utilize the rail network at PTP through our partner, Nilai Inland Port. 

"Shippers in these areas then have got two very good alternatives to utilize PTP," he said.

The participants were briefed on the PTP Free Zone Authority and the various facilities, direct services and land available at PTP for distribution and consolidation. 
This was followed by a presentation on land feeder services to PTP by Mazlan Haji Daud, General Manager, Logistics and Port Services Division of PTP. 

Mazlan explained that the main function of the rail network or land feeder service
was to provide shippers with an alternative to send their cargo to PTP than from the feedering via sea. 

"Shippers especially in Malacca, Nilai and central region will benefit from the competitive cost and high level of service," he said.

This, he added will improve their inventory turnover and shorten their supply chain. PTP is collaborating on the rail network marketing with Nilai Inland Port (NIP) and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB). 
 
Following the presentations, a dialogue session was held where PTP
representatives, Nilai Inland Port representative, Sreedharan Nair, General
Manager and KTMB representative, Abd Radzak Malek, General Manager, Freight
Services, held a dialogue session with the seminar participants.
 
PTP, which is embarking on the Phase two expansion, offers six berths of 360 metres each in length backed by a container yard with a storage capacity of 110,000 TEUs.