Malaysia's Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), the nation's largest container terminal, handled 5.5 million TEU in 2007, an increase of 14.5 per cent over 2006, say port authorities.
Officials attributed the growth in PTP's container traffic to the continued strength of the Asia-to-Europe container trade, the strong performance recorded by existing customers over the last year and to the hard work of PTP employees.
Harun Johari, CEO of Port of Tanjung Pelepas, said in a company statement: "Global container trade is expected to grow at an average of eight to 10 per cent annually for the next five years. It is therefore important to invest in capacity to ensure ports don't create bottlenecks in the supply chain."
PTP has taken delivery of four new quay cranes and eight RTG cranes in 2007 and has placed orders for additional quay cranes, RTG cranes, prime-movers and reach stackers.
PTP is also working with government to dredge access channels and there are plans to build two new berths.
To date, MYR3 billion (US$924.04 million) of foreign direct investment has been made in the Pelepas Free Zone. "In 2007 we attracted twice as many new customers compared to 2006. We now have more than 50 global brands operating a diverse range of businesses within our free zone," he said.
Officials attributed the growth in PTP's container traffic to the continued strength of the Asia-to-Europe container trade, the strong performance recorded by existing customers over the last year and to the hard work of PTP employees.
Harun Johari, CEO of Port of Tanjung Pelepas, said in a company statement: "Global container trade is expected to grow at an average of eight to 10 per cent annually for the next five years. It is therefore important to invest in capacity to ensure ports don't create bottlenecks in the supply chain."
PTP has taken delivery of four new quay cranes and eight RTG cranes in 2007 and has placed orders for additional quay cranes, RTG cranes, prime-movers and reach stackers.
PTP is also working with government to dredge access channels and there are plans to build two new berths.
To date, MYR3 billion (US$924.04 million) of foreign direct investment has been made in the Pelepas Free Zone. "In 2007 we attracted twice as many new customers compared to 2006. We now have more than 50 global brands operating a diverse range of businesses within our free zone," he said.