ISKANDAR PUTERI: Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) will invest RM750 million to expand its capacity this year, its chief executive officer, Marco Neelsen said.

       Spurred by double-digit growth last year, he said the port, which currently has a capacity of 11.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), would grow to 12.5 million TEU within the next six months.

       "We will receive 18 new Quayside and Yard Cranes, as well as an ongoing yard expansion.

       "Furthermore, we plan to add one more berth close to Berth 1 which we want to use, among others, to expand our footprint for cargo to and from Sumatra," he told reporters at the PTP 11 million TEUs milestone celebration, here today.

       Present were Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad.

       Apart from terminal footprint, Neelsen said the investment would focus on improving efficiency and customer experience.

       "We are currently expanding our Free Zone with the development of an 81-acre site in Tanjung Adang which is planned to be concluded by early 2023," he said.

       PTP has registered a total volume of 11.2 million TEUs at the end of 2021, a 14 per cent increase in its yearly volume, compared to 9.8 million TEUs in 2020.

       It is also among 20 top ports in the world that recorded a double-digit growth last year.

       A joint venture between Malaysia’s MMC Group and The Hague’s APM Terminals, PTP created a new milestone by becoming the first container terminal in Malaysia to surpass 11 million TEUs throughput volume in a year. - Bernama