Penang Port in Malaysia aims to handle 1.35 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in 2016.
Port manager Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) said the goal will be supported by demand from industries in Batu Kawan town and the northern region’s completely-knocked-down automotive industry, reported Bernama News.
PPSB chief operating officer Steven Yoogalingam said 2015 had been “a fairly good year,” as the group expects to finish it with about 1.31 million TEUs of containers handled, or about a 4% increase from last year.
He stated that PPSB had no plans to expand the port, as its current handling capacity is up to two million TEUs.
“For the past one and half years, the new port management has been focusing solely on improving productivity in areas such as turning around vessels efficiently, being able to berth on arrival without delay and the efficient unloading of cargo,” he said.
In 2015, Penang Port registered five new shipping lines and the number of vessels calling increased about 15% compared to the previous year.
Steven said the current plan in managing the port is to continue maintaining the channel at the present depth to serve the larger vessels.
“The depth is more than sufficient to handle any type of ships that comes to Penang and we can handle more than 5,000 TEU vessels.”
He added that about 70% of cargo vessels that call at the port are intra-Asia bound, including those set for China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Penang Port, the oldest port in Malaysia, serves as the main gateway for shippers in the northern states of the country and in the southern provinces of Thailand as well. The port is strategically located along the Straits of Malacca, one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, and was recently privatized.
Photo: Gp song
