Final quarter good for ports

PASIR GUDANG: The final quarter of the year is expected to be good for Malaysian ports due to increased trade activities, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.The Transport Minister said many ports around the world were affected by the Russian-Ukraine conflict, including those in Malaysia.

“However, we expect the last four months of this year to be busy as (activities) are increasing due to many items being sent because of Christmas,” he said after officiating the Johor Port Authority’s (LPJ) Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) corporate social responsibility programme at its headquarters here yesterday.

Despite the impact of the conflict on world trade, Dr Wee said the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) recorded strong growth.

He said as of Aug 21, PTP recorded 6.98 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and was on track to exceed seven million TEUs by the end of this month.

Dr Wee said PTP recorded 11.2 million TEUs last year, making it the 15th busiest port in the world, up three places from the year before.

This was an increase of 14% from the 9.8 million TEUs recorded in 2020.

“I am confident that, as the main trans-shipment port in the region, PTP is competitive and strategically located.

“In terms of efficiency, it’s able to handle any containers, especially for trans-shipment,” he said.

He also called on LPJ to improve the performance of PTP and Johor Port, which are both under its authority.

Dr Wee said both ports were the Malaysia Southern Gateway that certainly brought lots of benefits to the Malaysian Family.

He added that he was impressed with the performance of Johor Port, which had been turned into a commodity hub, with the world’s largest palm oil storage facility.

“Looking at the performance of Johor Port, which has handled more than 21 million TEUs since its establishment, and PTP handling more than 148 million TEUs, and Malaysia being the most important trans-shipment port in the region, I am confident the target we are aiming for can be achieved,” he said.

LPJ is the regulatory body for Johor Port and PTP. Johor Port is a multi-purpose port that handles various types of cargo such as bulk and liquid cargo and containers, while PTP handles containers as a whole.