Business

Saturday February 14, 2009

PTP seeks RM4bil more for capex


JOHOR’S Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), one of the fastest growing ports worldwide, is looking for a further RM4bil in capital expenditure (capex) in the next five years for its expansion plan.

Chief executive officer Captain Ismail Hashim says RM2.5bil was allocated under the first phase of the expansion plan and PTP is looking at RM4bil more for phase two.

“For further expansion, we have to see as we move along,” he says. In the wake of the global economic slowdown, Ismail says PTP is looking at new businesses this year to improve revenue.

“The financial crisis is affecting most shipping lines and they are keen to hear options or alternatives which can improve their cost structure,” he says, adding that PTP is also working aggressively to attract more shipping lines.

For this year, PTP is looking at a similar level of business from its existing customers, Ismail says. – Bernama

On current developments, Ismail said in terms of construction of facilities, PTP was now in the process of completing Berth 11 and 12.

“We should be completing Berth 11 in the second quarter this year and Berth12 in the third quarter,” he said.

Ismail said PTP had ordered eight key cranes, with four of them due to arrive in the second quarter and the remaining four in the third quarter.

Other new equipment included 20 rubber tyred gantry cranes scheduled to arrive in the third quarter and 50 prime movers early this year, he said.

”So with all these equipment, we should be able to handle about 10 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on 12 berths for customers,” Ismail said. “We have a significant capacity and at the same time more to sell for new potential customers.”

According to him, PTP was also looking for additional manpower.

”We will be adding 200 to 400 employees,” he said.

“In fact, the global economic crisis is also an opportunity in the sense that shipping lines have to look at their operating situations and we have the capacity to offer them competitive pricing,” he said.

PTP, he added, was also able to provide faster turnaround and minimal waiting time for berths so that shipping vessels could move in a more productive manner.

“We are looking at getting new business with the surplus of two to three million TEU capacity that we will have by the second half of this year,” he said.

On the challenges ahead, Ismail said that PTP has a good masterplan for moving forward in the long term.

“It is geared up towards high growth and we can grow up to five times what we are today. We also feel that the current economic challenges may be a time to conserve our resources so that we will be more resilient and stronger after the crisis and be able to position ourselves for the opportunities then,” he added.

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