ASEAN Ports Association Malaysia (MAPA)

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

AS the economy shifts to a lower gear, it may be the right time for the local port industry to focus on improving infrastructure and raising efficiency levels.

This will enable port operators to provide cost-effective services to customers in the near term while ensuring that when the world trade picks up, they are able to seize the opportunities in the longer term.

In recent years, major ports in Malaysia have utilised almost full capacity to cater to the booming business, which in turn has prompted them to embark on major expansions.

According to Malaysia’s Maritime Institute senior fellow Nazery Khalid, it is crucial for local ports to continually improve their infrastructure, efficiency, productivity and performance to offer customers value for money, especially in this climate that is proving to be extremely challenging for the shipping industry.

“Unlike Westports, Northport and Port of Tanjung Pelepas, which are on par with the world’s best container ports, there are some other local ports that can improve their services.

“The other local ports must benchmark themselves against regional heavyweights like the Singapore Port, Shanghai Port and Hong Kong Port which are among the world’s top five container ports in terms of volume.

“Malaysian ports can certainly improve on many fronts to enhance their competitiveness to attract more main-line operators (shipping companies) to call at their terminals,” he adds.

He suggests that port operators thoroughly assess their current positions and chart their next course of action to weather the global economic downturn.

“Amid the economic and seaborne trade slowdown, port operators must plan their resources meticulously and find ways to harness their strengths to place themselves on a stronger platform.

“Now is the time to identify areas of weaknesses which they may have overlooked during busier times,” Nazery says.

As the most cost-efficient mode of trade transport, where 90% of goods are transported via sea, the shipping industry is vulnerable to any slowdown in the world economies against a backdrop of declining trade volume.

On the flip side, it is also well positioned to benefit from the up-tick in economic activity.

By SHARIDAN M.ALI