ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

Terminal operator Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) will be roping in 30 additional skilled personnel to handle vital port machinery next year, as part of efforts to boost productivity.

The port now handles an average crane productivity of 25 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) moves per hour compared with 35 TEU moves per hour by more productive ports.

The new recruitments will handle the port’s seven new post-panamax cranes and work the extended 1.5km berth, which is due to be completed by the middle of next year, said PPSB human resources general manager Tadzaruddin Abd Manaf.

“There will also be training involved as the cranes are specialised equipment that are crucial in speeding up our operations in container services.

“We plan to get this recruitment process started once we have determined our 2011 budget which will cater for our expansion plans at the end of the year,” he told reporters after officiating at the port’s 14th blood donation campaign, which saw the participation of 140 employees, at its office in George Town yesterday. PPSB employs 1,760 people.

The port is currently undergoing expansion plans, which include the extension of the port’s existing 900m wharf to another 600m, and the deepening of the North Channel among others, to increase its productivity as an international port.

Tadzaruddin said the port has spent about RM1.6 billion over the past five years on infrastructure development, mainly for its North Butterworth Container Terminal.

“With improvements to our infrastructure and online system, we expect business to pick up. Last month alone, we handled 96,000 TEUs.

“For this month, things are looking well. Hopefully, by the end of the year we will be able to reach our one million-TEU target, make RM300 million in revenue and move forward in our efforts to join the big leagues like Port Klang that handles four million TEUs a year,” he said.

PPSB handled a total of 958,476 TEUs last year, compared with 929,639 TEUs in 2008.

The port was ranked 64th in the world this year, 36 places above its last year’s position at 100.

Tadzaruddin said PPSB will work towards improving its international ranking, or at least maintain its performance.

“We are on the right track in serving our customers locally and internationally. We are expecting business to increase in 2011,” he said.

By: Looi Sue-Chern

Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Tan Cheng Liang (left) leading Bangladesh Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan on a visit to the Penang International Cruise Terminal at the Swettenham Pier.

PENANG and Bangladesh Chittagong ports are currently in discussions to become sister ports in an effort to enhance co-operation between the two harbours.

Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Tan Cheng Liang said both parties had discussed the proposal and the commission hoped that a memorandum of understanding could be inked soon.

She said the move was an initiative to foster a closer relationship among ports elsewhere.

She said this in her speech during a visit from Bangladesh Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan to the Swettenham Pier and North Butterworth Container Terminal yesterday.

Shahjahan said he welcomed the sister port suggestion to enhance the relationship between the both states.

“Bangladesh is a developing country and the purpose of the visit is to have a greater understanding in running a modern port. Based on the knowledge, we hope to develop our own maritime sector, especially our two main seaports,” he said.

Chittagong is the bigger of Bangladesh’s two main seaports, the other is Mongla port.

Speaking to reporters during a tour of Penang International Cruise Terminal at Swettenham Pier, Tan said a sister port agreement with Chittagong would allow both parties to have a better understanding with each other.

“Aside from increasing trade between the two ports, a sister port relationship could also give us a boost in pooling together our experience and data resources, human resource training and would enhance our bilateral relationship,” she said.

Penang has previously signed a sister port pact with the Siam seaport in Thailand while the Penang port will be Chittagong’s first sister port if an agreement is signed.

By:  The Star Online

The North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) registered some 13% increase in the volume of cargo it handled in October.

NBCT handled 94,570 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in October, compared with 83,103 TEUs in September.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd general manager Obaid Mansor told StarBiz that the higher cargo volume was driven by goods from southern Thailand, rise in local businesses’ imports and exports, and an increase in the volume of empty containers from India and the Middle-East.

“We are confident of achieving our target of 930,000 TEUs by the year-end, matching the volume of cargo handled in 2008,” he said.

On the expansion of NBCT, he said the work to extend the 900m berth to 1,500m would be completed a year earlier.

“The original schedule for completion was October 2011. We have finished adding 400m to the berth,” he said.

He also said NBCT had already received four of the seven post-Panamax gantry cranes that it had ordered. “The other three cranes will arrive in the first week of December. Each crane costs RM25mil,” he said.

By: The Star Online