Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd (PTP), the operator of Tanjung Pelepas, said the rise in container volume was driven by the organic growth of its existing customers, as well as a major boost following the deployment of the 2M Alliance (the world’s largest container shipment collaboration between Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co SA) to PTP. “Similar to last year, we believe that both Maersk Line and MSC are set to aggressively expand their business this year, as the advantages provided by the 2M Alliance will offer greater market options,” said PTP Chairman, Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh. Che Khalib is also the Managing Director of MMC Corp Bhd, which owns a 70% stake in PTP with the remaining stake held by Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk. Although Singapore’s dominance in the “Top 100” container ports ranking will never really come under threat, given the scale of connections PTP can offer and its ability to handle large container ships, Tanjung Pelepas remains a regional rival and an alternative to the Port of Singapore for trans-shipment traffic. In August 2015, the port hit a record monthly throughput of 800,000 TEUs, and in January 2016, handled more than 18,000 TEUs in a single berthing. Che Khalib said the milestone was achieved on 13 January, when Matz Maersk left the port with the record load of 18,034 TEUs. “It is a significant milestone to us and is only made possible by the passion and commitment of our employees. We will continue to build and strengthen our performance as well as to provide the best service to meet the demand of our customers and stakeholders,” said Khalib. In July 2015, PTP revealed that it is raising the bar even further by expanding its capacity from the current 12.5 million TEUs to 15 million TEUs in the next five years. Continuous capacity expansion is vital to ensure that PTP is able to handle future growth while offering key valuable business propositions to new and potential customers. To execute the plans to widen the access channel, from the current 400m to 600m, and dredge it from the current depth of 16m to 18.5m, PTP has applied for government funding under the 11th Malaysian Plan. With the new depth, PTP would be able to accommodate the largest container vessels in the world without any tidal restrictions. Just over a year later, and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas announced it is to invest more than USD2.1 billion to more than double its capacity by 2030. The expansion project will increase handling capacity to 22.2 million TEUs within the next 15 years. The first stages of the project include replacement of its existing equipment to increase the annual capacity from the current 10.5 million TEUs to 13.2 million TEUs. The third phase, which is expected to take place in 2018, will include the construction of six new berths with a total length of three kilometres. Completion of the third stage of the project, which will be divided into phases 3A and 3B, is expected to enable PTP to increase its handling capacity to 22.2 million TEUs before 2030.
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
