16th July 2007

NST LOGISTICS

Container traffic hits 7 million TEU-mark in the first half

The volume of containers handled at principal containers ports in the country in the first half of this year recorded double digit growth of 14.76 to 7.4 million TEUs, largely aided by the handling of more transshipment traffic.
 
The increase compared with 6.5 million TEUs handled same period 2006 by the main ports in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak.
 
Port Klang continued its lead over other ports in the country by handling a total of 3.38 million TEUs, compared with 3.0 million TEUs in the previous year.
 
Port Klang, comprising two port terminals, namely Northport and Westports, accounted for 46 per cent of the total container traffic handled by ports in Peninsular Malaysia.
 
At the southern tip of the Peninsula Malaysia the combined container traffic of Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and Johor Port, both which come under the preview of Johor Port Authority, breached the three million TEU-mark.
 
PTP posted 2.72 million TEUs while Johor Port handled 453,000 TEUs in the January-June period of 2007, bring the combined volume to 3.18 million TEUs
 
Penang Port, which operates 900-metre container terminal managed to handle 849,730 teus in 2006. Penang Port recorded 11.53 per cent growth and registered 444,242 teus in the first half of this year.
 
The port which took delivery two quay cranes in July this year expects to handle 900,000 TEUs by end of this year.
 
On the eastern seaboard of Peninsular Malaysia, Kuantan Port, managed and operated by Kuantan Port Consortium Sdn Bhd handled 65,117 TEUs in the January-June period of 2007.
 
The box volume at the eastern corridor port rose moderately by 9.12 per cent from less than 60,000 TEUs handled in the first half of 2006.
 
In Sarawak, the four principal container handling facilities namely Bintulu Port, Kuching Port, Miri and Rajang Port handled at total of 230,000 TEUs in the first half of this year.
 
Bintulu Port, which is pushing hard to offer itself as a regional hub port, kept its lead as the main container port in Sarawak, with a total of 110,420 TEUs.
 
Box traffic volume at the Bintulu Port rose dramatically by 34 per cent from 84,500 TEUs handled in the same period last year following the stepped up shipping services provided Swee Joo Bhd and Harbour Link Line.
 
The port is also handling increasing volume of transshipment boxes from smaller ports in Sabah and Sarawak.
 
The other three container handling terminals in Sarawak also posted positive growth in the first half of this year.
 
Kuching Port handled 78,000 TEUs while Rajang 31,700 TEUs and Miri Port 9,129 TEUs during the period under review.
 
In Sabah growth in container traffic was also positive.
 
Sabah container ports comprising facilities in Tawau, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan handled a total of 126,800 TEUs in the first half of this year.
 
The ports in Sabah, operated and managed by Sabah Ports Sdn Bhd which commissioned in June its new RM400 million dedicated container terminal at Sepangar Bay which has a capacity to handled about 400,000 TEUs.

  
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