The Sun, January 31st 2003 - Port Operator Westport recorded a 44.26% jump in revenue to RM264 million for its container operations in 2002, from RM183 million posted in the previous year, despite stiff competition from the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) and PSA Corp of Singapore.

The higher revenue came from a 41.37% increase in container throughput to 2.05 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) against 1.45 million TEUs handled in 2001.

Westport's conventional cargo operations also posted a higher turnover of RM88 million, against RM77 million in the previous corresponding period, Westport executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam says in an interview.

"The better results were due to the higher tonnage of conventional cargo handled amounting to 8.4 million tones against 7.2 million tones achieved in the previous year," he says.

Gnanalingam says the port has held its ground and continues to see growth in its container handling despite keen competition from PTP and PSA corp.

Westport has lost some 300,000 TEUs annually in transshipment boxes of Maersk-Sealand and Evergreen Marine Corp shipping lines to PTP while PSA last year adopted a competitive strategic positioning by giving come $400 million (RM878.16 million) in subsidies to the main line operators, Gnanalingam says.

"Despite the many challenges, we have continued to grow and the bulk of that increase came from abroad, via transshipment cargo. In 2002, we handled 1.3 million TEU boxes compared with 837,000 TEUs in 2001," he points out.

On capital expenditure, Gnanalingam says Westport would spend at least RM200 million this year.

The port has 2km of berthing space, 21 quay cranes, 61 gantries on rubber tyres and 150 prime movers, which facilitate the handling of three million TEUs annually. - theedgedaily.com.