ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

3,000 ground slots will be ready in container terminal by then

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) needs one month to solve the congestion problems at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) as the new decking area with 3,000 ground slots will only be ready by then.

Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Tan Cheng Liang told a press conference that all the port users had agreed to wait till next month for PPSB to solve the congestion problems.

Also present were PPC general manager Noor Ariff Yusoff, PPSB chief operating officer Azlan Hamid, and the Association of Malaysian Hauliers northern region chairman R. Amaippan.

“PPSB has also identified certain key problems to be resolved to hasten the flow of cargo delivery. These entail the opening of all the four entrance gates during meal hours and improving the scanning of container cargo to speed up cargo delivery,” Tan said.

Tan spoke following a meeting with port users including hauliers, exporters, forwarders, and representatives from the transport and international trade and industry ministries.

“When the additional 3,000 ground slots at the new decking area are ready next month, PPSB will open the window frame for cargo delivery back to five days,” she said.

Due to congestion at the NBCT container yard, the window for cargo delivery was shortened to 1½ days three months ago.

Last month, StarBiz reported that 20 container haulage companies in the northern region were losing about RM18mil a month in “opportunity cost” because of the shorter window frame to deliver container cargo for export.

On Saturday, Amaippan advised customers to use Port Klang, and subsequently Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had also called for outside expertise to be brought in to assist PPC and PPPSB.

Tan said Lim should quickly give out land titles to PPC for four plots of land so that they could be used to ease congestion at the NBCT and for use by the Penang International Cruise Terminal (PICT).

“We have submitted applications for the land titles.

“Two plots of land are for use at the NBCT while the other two are for use by PICT,” Tan said.

“One plot of about 26ha has been designated for use as a container yard at the NBCT. This container yard has 4,200 ground slots to accommodate cargo.

“Another plot is for a bridge at the NBCT to facilitate cargo movement from the container yard to the decking area,” she said.

By DAVID TAN

THE year 2010 will be a big year for Penang Port.

The extension to its container wharf will be completed and the six new cranes built by ZPMC and delivered in December 2009 will commence service.

As the Penang Port managing director Datuk Ahmad Ibnihajar puts it: “There will be new operational options including on wharf storage serviced by high speed rail mounted gantry cranes, a new access bridge to the wharf and more storage yard space.”

Business overview

For the next three years, the Penang Port will continue to embark on its capacity building and productivity improvement to support its aim to be a premier port and logistics chain integrator in the IMT-GT economic region as well as for Bay of Bengal.

As container handling will continue to be its main revenue contributor, the Penang Port has invested more than RM1 billion for a few major projects since 2008.

North ButterworthContainer Terminal (NBCT) Phase 3

The expansion of NBCT Phase 3 will be undertaken in two phases.

Phase 3A – The first phase in the expansion of dedicated container terminal will include a new 600-metre wharf extension to the existing 900-metre wharf.

A new decking area for export container and support by a third access bridge is under construction.

This project is expected to be completed ahead of schedule before end of 2010.

Phase 3B – Construction of a new back stacking area to the existing 900-metre wharves.

To compliment this expansion project, the Penang Port has taken delivery of seven ZMPC Post-Panamax cranes.

Four cranes were delivered in November 2009, while the remainder arrived in early December.

The cranes, which cost RM25 million each, were delivered fully assembled. A Post-Panamax crane can reach 18 rows of containers on board a ship.

The new cranes with its twin-lift capabilities will speed up handling operations as it can pick up two containers at a time.

In line with these new projects, productivity at the port will be enhanced with a new target of crane productivity at more than 25 moves per hour per crane.

With this expansion plan in place and supported by a programme to deepen the access channel at north channel, to be carried out in 2011, it will enable Penang Port to attract more mainline call and direct services.

The port can be positioned as a regional transshipment hub and upgraded to be one of the major container ports in Bay of Bengal.

Cargo services

“The Penang Port continues to build its capacity to cater for existing and potential growth in bulk cargo,” said Ahmad.

“We are also in the midst of planning to re-develop the old Prai wharf into a fully dedicated modern bulk terminal to handle limestone, iron ore and cement clinkers.

“The amount of investment is expected to be about RM224 million,” he said.

The new terminal will be 14 metres deep and will be able to handle panamax vessels.

It will have a state-of-the-art conveyor belt, which will be linked directly to the customer’s premises.

The terminal will also be connected directly to KTMB’s national grid and will initially be expected to handle two million tonnes of bulk limestone and iron ore.

Ahmad said the Penang Port would continue to strengthen its cargo base by further increasing its land bank through the reclamation of an additional 404 hectares for various business activities and niche cargo such as free zone activities, halal hub and possibly to set up auto port and metal exchanges.

By: Lee Keng Fatt

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

BUTTERWORTH: (NBCT) last month handled 92,439 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which is the highest volume achieved in a single month in its 35-year history, said Penang Port Sdn Bhd general manager Obaid Mansor.

“The average volume of cargo handled in a month is between 77,000 and 87,000 TEUs.

“In August last year, NBCT handled 85,505 TEUs and in August 2007, it was 78,624 TEUs,” Obaid told StarBiz, adding that it handled 87,879 TEUs in July.

He said NBCT was now optimistic the total volume of cargo handled this year would not decline by 5.5% as forecast in July.

“Cargo-handling activities in the fourth quarter should remain stable and NBCT should handle as much cargo this year as it did in 2008, which was 929,000 TEUs.

“We expect a lot of cargo such as furniture products and consumer electrical goods such as televisions, washing machines and refrigerators to arrive at NBCT in the fourth quarter, as wholesalers in the north would be stocking up to prepare for the festive season,” he said.

Obaid said the increased cargo-handling activities in August was due to a number of factors.

These include the greater volume of rubber-based cargo from southern Thailand exported via NBCT to other parts of Asia, the higher imports of steel scrap by steel mills in the north, and a bigger volume of empty containers coming from the Middle East and India.

“Empty containers comprised about 25% of the volume handled. They generate revenue as NBCT levies handling charges on their owners,” he said.

Export of rubber-based cargo and import of steel scrap were key indicators that the economy in the region was picking up, Obaid said.

“It shows that the effects of the stimulus packages are already kicking in. The import of steel scrap is an indicator that development projects in the north are resuming.”

Obaid said NBCT expected to handle over 80,000 TEUs of cargo this month.

He said the slight drop was expected as the bulk of restocking activities had taken place in August.

“The new seven post-Panamax gantry cranes worth RM175mil, coming in October, will increase the volume of cargo handled annually to over one million TEUs,” he said.

The cranes would be put into action in the second quarter next year, he added.

By : David Tan