ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

BILATERAL trade and investment with China will soon be given a shot in the arm with the expansion of Kuantan Port and as it adopts the Eastern Gateway name.

Offering the most direct route between both countries, it also reduces sailing time to three days between Kuantan and southern China.

East Coast Economic Region (ECER) Development Council chief executive officer Datuk Jebasingam Issace John said the Kuantan Port will serve the industries in ECER, with cargoes such as oil palm products, petrochemical products, bulk cargo (iron ore) and automotive parts and components, with the growth of the Pekan Automotive Park.

It will also serve bulk cargo and container traffic.

The government, he said, is investing RM1 billion to build the 4.7km breakwater at the port, one of the longest in the world, as well as upgrading external infrastructure to support the port expansion.

The newly built breakwater will create a sheltered basin that will allow berths to operate safely and efficiently throughout the year.

“The private-sector investment worth RM3 billion is for the carrying out of the capital dredging, reclamation works to create new development land, construction of new berths, operational buildings and facilities, and provision of equipment and machineries for port operations,” he said yesterday.

The expansion of Kuantan Port, which will be officially launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on September 7, will further accelerate the transformation of the region and position itself as the investment gateway to Asean and Asia Pacific.

Kuantan Port is now in the midst of expansion involving deepwater-dredging works.

John does not think the Malaysian ports will be competing against each other for transshipment.

“Each of Malaysia’s ports has its own unique positioning.

“In the case of Port of Tanjung Pelepas, it is strategically located at the confluence of the main east-west shipping lines whereas Kuantan Port is a multipurpose port located in the ECER Special Economic Zone, where there is already a concentration of various industries.”

A catalyst for the growth of traffic at Kuantan Port is the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP), the sister park of China-Malaysia Qinzhou Industrial Park that will promote the growth of bilateral trade with China.

The port concession is a joint venture between IJM Corp Bhd and the Guangxi Beibu International Port Group that operates four major ports in southern China, including Qinzhou Port.

“The marketing of Kuantan Port to international shipping lines is handled by the port operator, namely Kuantan Port Consortium.”

Meanwhile, ECER is expecting to complete the RM30 billion 620km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) feasibility study by early next year.

“The study covers both the engineering and financial aspects of the project,” he said.

SINGAPORE: Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), Malaysia’s largest container terminal, is confident of double-digit growth next year despite a challenging economic environment.

“We are expanding under a three-year modernisation plan, which will be completed around May next year,” said chief executive officer Glen Hilton.

PTP is investing RM1.4 billion over three years in a modernisation plan designed to meet the docking requirements of mega-container vessels.

Hilton noted that PTP’s overall capacity, with the first 12 berths, amounted to 8.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

“Last year, we did 7.7 million TEUs. The market fluctuates up and down but we know we can grow. We have the capacity. With the new berths next year, we expect to record double-digit growth. The future is bright,” he said after welcoming the world’s largest container vessel, the Tripple-E “Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller”, on Sunday.

“Although we are in tough economic times, we will continue to work well with our customers like Maersk Line to attain continued growth.”

The newly built vessel called at PTP, which serves as Maersk Line’s Southeast Asia Transhipment Hub, on its maiden voyage between Far East Asia and Europe.

Being in the transshipment market, Hilton said the majority of the business was from other countries.

“We are in a great position, given PTP’s location in the heart of Asean, which is a growth market.

“We see some impact (of the economic downturn) from countries like Japan and South Korea, but the growth is there,” he explained.

In terms of the local market, Hilton said: “We are seeing a little bit of growth here. We are expecting the market to grow primarily on the back of great global shipping access. This is one of the benefits for the people in Johor and for companies that are importing and exporting goods into Malaysia.

“This is because they have access to bigger ships and the biggest network in the world, right at their front door,” he said, adding that it was also good for the local economy.

When asked on competition, Hilton said: “We have been in the transhipment market and face competition from Singapore.

“We also have competition with Port Klang and another port, which is literally beside us,” he said.

However, he said competition is good.

Saying that each port has its own challenges, including PTP, Hilton said: “We are committed to being the most efficient port in the region and that is our goal and we are very focused on it.”

On new shipping lines, he said: “We always have shipping lines typically for the local market calling at PTP.” Bernama

Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller, the world’s largest container ship and the first Triple-E class vessel, made its maiden call today at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) here.

The vessel was one of 20 ordered by Maersk Line from South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering following the signing of the US$1.9 billion contract in February 2011.

The Triple-E (EEE — economies of scale, energy efficient and environmentally-improved vessel) has a capacity of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The ship, costing US$190 million, is 400 metres long, 59 metres wide and 73 metres high (in terms of draft). It is deployed on Maersk Line’s AE-10 (Asia-Europe) service.

Maersk Line’s Country Manager for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, Bjarne Foldager, said the company was excited to witness the maiden call of the vessel.

He said an additional four Triple-E vessels will be delivered this year and the remaining ships will be delivered in 2014 and 2015.

“Besides providing economies of scale due to its size, the Triple E vessel is also the most energy efficient ship in the world,” he told a media briefing here Sunday.

He said the ship’s innovative design and technological features will help reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by more than 50 per cent for every container it moved, compared to the industry average on the Asia-Europe trade.

PTP Chief Executive Officer, Glen Hilton, said the call by Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller was good news for the port.

“PTP is equipped to handle the Triple E vessels and is investing in new infrastructure and equipment specifically designed for the new generation of container vessels of 18,000 TEU and beyond,” he said.

On its maiden call at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller loaded 4,800 TEU.

The vessel will will leave PTP at noon time tomorrow for Northern Europe via the Suez Canal, with Rotterdam being the first European port that it calls at. BERNAMA

Malaysian ports handled 16.6 per cent more containers in the first 10 months of this year compared with the same period in 2009, reflecting a recovery in both domestic and transhipment cargo.

Container traffic at the 11 major ports rose to 15.3 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) from 13.1 million in the periods reviewed.

In a statement, Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha said transhipment traffic was up 17 per cent. Transhipment cargo is that which arrives in the country and is transferred to another ship before continuing to its final destination.

Export containers showed a 17.6 per cent increase, while import traffic rose 14.1 per cent.

Port Klang, comprising Northport and Westports, solidified its position as the busiest container port in the country, with nearly half or 48.5 per cent share of the total number of containers handled by all Malaysian ports.

Its container throughput rose 24.8 per cent in the January-October 2010 period compared with the same period in 2009.

It moved 7.43 million TEUs against 5.95 million TEUs before.

More than half or 61.7 per cent of Port Klang’s container volume was from Westports, which generated 4.58 million TEUs. Northport accounted for the remaining 38.3 per cent or 2.85 million 20-foot equivalent units.

The Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor continued to be the second largest container port, handling 35.2 per cent of the country’s total throughput in the period.

Its container throughput rose 8.8 per cent to 5.38 million TEUs against 4.95 million TEUs before.

Kong said since container throughput in every Malaysia’s port was growing, his ministry was confident that the total throughput will reach 18.4 million TEUs by year-end.

Earlier this year, the total container throughput of Malaysian ports was projected to be 17.7 million TEUs for 2010, but the figure was later revised upwards following the better-than-expected performance in the last few months.

The country’s ports handled 16 million TEUs in 2009.

Port Klang, comprising Northport and Westports, has retained its title as the country’s busiest container port in the first half of this year, with a 48.3 per cent share of the total number of containers handled by all Malaysian ports.

Its rival, Port of Tanjung Pelepas in Johor, was listed second busiest, handling 35.4 per cent of the country’s total container throughput.

Port Klang moved 4.31 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of cargo in the January-June 2010 period, up 29.3 per cent from 3.33 million TEUs a year earlier, as the global economic recovery boosted cargo traffic, said Port Klang Authority (PKA) general manager Kee Lian Yong.

It handled 856,110 TEUs of exports, up 25.8 per cent from a year earlier, and the volume of imports rose 18.2 per cent to 828,082 TEUs. Transshipment volume rose 34.5 per cent to 2.62 million TEUs.

Kee said Westports led the way in the first half of 2010 with a 30 per cent increase in container volume from the same period in 2009, handling 2.65 million TEUs, while Northport saw a 28 per cent increase to 1.66 million TEUs last year.

“We are on track to achieve our stretch target of 8.4 million TEUs for the whole year, where Westports is projected to handle 5.2 million TEUs and Northport 3.2 million TEUs. The fourth quarter is traditionally the busiest quarter of the year,” Kee told Business Times in an interview.

Port Klang moved 7.31 million TEUs last year, a decline of 8.3 per cent compared with 7.97 million TEUs recorded in 2008.

“The projection for 2011 is a growth of 10 to 12 per cent in container volume (from 2010),” said Kee.

Meanwhile, in terms of tonnage handled, traffic through Port Klang in the first five months (January-May) of this year increased by 36.8 per cent to 65.54 million tonnes from 47.90 million tonnes a year earlier.

“PKA and the two terminal operators (Northport and Westports) took this time of slow-paced economy and downturn to reshape our strategies. These strategies have hastened and increased our growth even more so with the global economic recovery as can be seen by our growth percentage for the first half of 2010,” said Kee.

He added that the port authority is aware that emerging ports in Asia such as Vietnam and Sri Lanka pose stiff competition to Port Klang.

“In order for us to be competitive, we are constantly looking at our operations to ensure (we offer) effective and efficient service, are service oriented, and have cost-effective operations and a commercial competitive environment,” he said.

By: Kang Siew Li

JOHOR BAHARU, Dec 31 (Bernama) — The Port of Tanjung Langsat (PTL), in Pasir Gudang, will emerge as the leading chemical logistics hub in South East Asia, given the edge it has over its competitors.

Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the port’s advantages were obvious although it has to compete with integrated petrochemical complexes in Pahang, Terengganu, and Pulau Jurong in Singapore.

Speaking to reporters after officiating PTL’s liquid cargo berth here today, he said PTL can boost of its deepwater facility and offered a far lower cost of operation compared with other ports.

TLP is the third port in Johor, designed to complement the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port.

Positioning itself as Southeast Asia’s premier speciality terminal, it handles bulk cargo such as liquefied petroleum gas and dangerous chemicals.

“PTL’s strategic location in South East Asia will make it the leading port for bulk liquid cargo handling.

“Besides being very spacious with a 4.5 kilometre shoreline fronting the Straits of Johor and depths of 12.8 metres, the port can accommodate large vessels,” he said.

Johor Corporation, which owns PTL, has invested RM300 million to develop five liquid cargo berths.

Its President and Chief Executive, Tan Sri Muhammad Ali Hashim, said another RM600 million would be invested to install additional berth facilities at the port.

By 2012, Johor Corporation would have invested more than RM1 billion and, todate, has invested about RM500 million to develop itself to complement the nearby Tanjung Langsat Industrial Estate.

With the completion of the PTL’s liquid cargo berth, the port can now handle 26 million metric tonnes of liquid cargo annually, making it the biggest liquid cargo port in the country and region.

The PTL berth will also serve Langsat Bulkers Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture between PTL and Felda Johor Bulkers.

As for activities at the complex, Abdul Ghani said Asiaflex Products Sdn Bhd which was in the midst of completing a RM500 million flexible pipe factory, was planning additional investments to produce high-tech “Umbilical Cords”.

Besides, South Korea’s Kiswire Neptune is planning to invest RM250 million to manufacture steel wire ropes at the integrated complex.

Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), the country’s premier transhipment terminal, is working towards increasing hinterland cargo volume to achieve a more sustainable business model, says chief executive officer Captain Ismail Hashim.

On average, PTP now handled 95% transhipment and 5% hinterland cargo, he said.

“We feel that we have to strike a better balance to achieve a more sustainable business model,” he told StarBiz via e-mail.

Development in Iskandar Malaysia, which included logistics, would in turn support hinterland cargo growth, he said.

An aerial view of Port of Tanjung Pelepas.The port now has 12 berths and a terminal handling capacity of 10 million TEUs per year.

“In this respect, PTP, along with its sister companies Johor Port and Senai Airport, will play complementing roles to further strengthen the logistics sector in Johor.

“The presence of strong logistics infrastructure in Iskandar Malaysia and Johor will attract investors, manufacturers and industries that are looking for strong and efficient logistics backbone,” Ismail said.

This would result in an increase in Johor’s hinterland volume, he added.

PTP’s 1,000-acre free-zone land has also been successful in attracting brands, contributing to the hinterland volume of PTP.

“Companies which are already rooted in Pelepas Free Zone include Ciba Vision, Flextronics, BMW, JST as well as logistics players such as Maersk Logistics, Nagai Nitto, Schenker Logistics and Century Logistics.

“We are continuously marketing the free-zone land to attract more players,” Ismail said.

The port’s aims to quadruple its volume in the next 20 years augurs well for hinterland cargo.

Ismail said in line with the expected increase in volume and its long-term goal, PTP would have to expand its port infrastructure.

“Some of the factors that shipping lines look for when deciding on a port of call is the accessibility to the port, operational efficiency and capability to handle current and future volumes (scalability).

“In the case of PTP, we belief we will be able to achieve this due to the value propositions that we have to offer,” he said.

PTP currently has 12 berths and a terminal-handling capacity of 10 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per annum.

Ismail said it had the space and potential to build up to 95 berths with a terminal-handling capacity of more than 100 million TEUs.

PTP handled about 5.6 million TEUs last year.

On the current business environment, Ismail said it had been very challenging for all port operators globally due to the economic downturn.

“However, PTP has shown outstanding performance in weathering this stormy condition, especially in the second half of the year,” he said.

He noted that PTP registered a 3.4% increase in volume as at September compared with the same period last year.

“Despite the downturn, we expect to see some growth this year via the new services introduced through our existing and new customers such as CMA CGM,” he said.

By: Sharidan M. Ali

MARSEILLE: Malaysia’s liberalisation of 27 local services sub-sectors, including the transport sub-sector, prompted French shipping giant, CMA CGM to mull over plans to strengthen its foothold in the country.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had during a visit to the headquarters of the world’s third largest container shipping company in the French city last Thursday shared the Malaysian Government’s policy to liberalise the transport sub-sector, including the opening of 30% restriction in foreign ownership.

CMA CGM has had a presence in Port Klang since 1994 and is one of the largest customers of Port Klang. It has since June 1 also served the port of Tanjung Pelepas.

In welcoming the move, the company’s president Jacques R. Saade said “such liberalisation will change the strategy (of the company) in Asia.”

The shipping giant also welcomed Ong’s announcement of gradual liberalisation of cabotage of key sectors such as from Peninsular Malaysia to three major ports in east Malaysia, namely Sepangar, Kuching and Bintulu. (See also page 7)

Saade said the company would seriously explore the opportunities available from such a move. He also said the company would expand its dry port bonded warehouses, which include the Port Klang Free Zone.

Later, Ong visited the Port of Marseille, one of the oldest and busiest sea ports in France.

Marseille Port also raised its interest to establish an in-house university specialising in shipping and maritime as part of its education and training project.

Ong took the opportunity to test-drive its state-of-the-art port simulator.

By SHARIDAN M. ALI

PETALING JAYA: A number of port operators in the country have reported higher throughput volume for March but are cautious about volume going forward as the signs of recovery are still weak.

According to them, imports and exports as measured by twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) were up for March while transhipments – the shipment of goods to an intermediate destination before moving to another destination – were also up.

Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam had noted earlier in a commentary that in March, Westports’ total volume, including imports, exports and transhipments, was up 10% compared with the previous three months.

He said the immediate question that came to mind was whether these were signs of recovery or if this was due to inventory corrections after managers cancelled their orders between October and December last year.

“As such, between April and June, we’ll begin to notice that the world will not only reinstate its inventory levels but also increase its orders simply because life must go on,” Gnanalingam said.

Captain Ismail Hashim, chief executive officer of Port of Tanjung Pelepas Sdn Bhd, which operates the number one transhipment port in the country, said volume grew 23% to 469,000 TEUs for March compared with February.

He said it was tricky to accurately predict the underlying reasons behind the recent increase in volume. “Whether the increase is sustainable over the longer term remains to be seen,” Ismail told StarBiz in an e-mail reply.

He said if the recent upturn was due to restocking of manufacturers’ orders as a result of them halting production abruptly earlier on when the crisis first started then the spike in volume could be “just a temporary pattern.”

Penang Port Sdn Bhd general manager Obaid Mansor said the Butterworth container terminal saw a bottoming in January when throughput was 30% lower than October 2008.

“The upturn in business was really registered in the export transhipment trade provided by our industrial hinterland,” he said, adding that a combination of improved demand for manufactured products, re-stocking, trade credit availability and demand from China and India could be the factors that contributed to an improvement in volume.

By FINTAN NG

MALAYSIA’S major ports should be able to withstand the onslaught of the global economic crisis, at least for this year.

In fact, many are still projecting growth in volume although business may not be as robust as in previous years.

There are about seven major container ports in the country – Northport and Westports in Port Klang; Penang Port; Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port in Johor; Bintulu Port in Sarawak; and Sapangar Bay Container Port in Sabah.

The harsh impact of the global economic crisis has resulted in declining world trade. However, healthy intra-Asian trade and higher local public spending growth is expected to spur more imported goods and raw materials.

OSK Research, which has lowered the country’s gross domestic product forecast for this year to 1.1% from 2.7%, says the RM7bil economic stimulus plan by the Government should be able to support high public spending this year.

Most analysts say the ports’ stellar performance in past years has boosted their resilience to sail through the choppy waters.

Moreover, they are somewhat “protected” from the economic storm due to their location, particularly those along the Straits of Malacca, the main maritime trade route in Asia.

Ports in east Malaysia are also strategically placed in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

It helps, too, that the ports have a mixed portfolio of handling transhipment as well as exports and imports. Most of the Malaysian ports managed to meet volume targets last year although by the fourth quarter, early signs of a trade decline were evident.

Northport (M) Bhd and Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd, the two terminal operators at the country’s maritime gateway Port Klang, are confident of maintaining volumes this year.

Northport posted slightly more than three million 20ft equivalent units (TEUs) last year, up 5% from 2007. It also expects to continue its RM585mil expansion plan which will be funded with internal funds.

On the other hand, Westports recorded around 16% volume growth in 2008 to slightly under five million TEUs. The positive forecast this year is supported by Westports’ biggest customer, CMA-CGM. Similarly, the global slowdown has not thrown a spanner in the works for Westports’ RM800mil expansion. The port’s container terminal five has been completed, adding a capacity of 1.2 million TEUs to a total of 7.2 million TEUs.

Its executive director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam, in his New Year’s message to the staff of Westports, says the company will embark on plans to consolidate its business in terms of processes, staff skills and initiatives given the relatively quieter period.

“Our manpower strength is currently at 3,650, which is sufficient to see us through the expected volume.

“Our next batch of recruits would probably come in during the second quarter of next year,” he said.

The country’s main transhipment port, Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), expects to break even this year at 5.6 million TEUs.

“The current situation is unprecedented,” says chief executive officer Capt Ismail Hashim, adding that the best and worst-case scenario would see a 15% rise or 10% drop in cargo volume for the year.

Noteworthy is that PTP has experienced a 6% contraction in cargo volume in the final quarter of 2008 against the corresponding period a year earlier.

“But we are keeping our hopes up as our main-line operators, such as Maersk and Evergreen, are anticipating marginal growth this year,” he says. “The non-decline forecast is largely based on our exposure to the still healthy intra-Asian trade.”

Penang Port, according to its chief operating officer Mohd Niana Merican Abd Kadir Merican, expects a flat growth this year given the uncertainties going forward while Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP), managed by Sabah Port Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suria Capital Holdings Bhd), is not expecting volumes to fall.

Sabah Port also manages seven other ports in Sabah. Suria Capital group managing director Datuk Abu Bakar Abas is optimistic of the outlook for this year due to the Government’s stimulus package to boost economic activity in the country.

By SHARIDAN M. ALI