WESTPORT is expanding its container handling facilities to cope with growing demand for its services.

The port, on Pulau Indah, will be commencing work on the Container Terminal 4 that will add another 600m to the existing 2km container terminal by middle of next year. To beef up its landside operation, the port is acquiring four twin-lift quay cranes and eight rubber tyred gantry cranes together with 25 prime movers.

Plans are also in the pipeline to develop two more container freight stations that will be set up to cater for the rising demands of consolidation of cargoes. Meanwhile, traffic at Westport grew by 10.5 per cent to 1.26 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the January-June period of this year. Transhipment traffic made up more than 60 per cent of the container traffic handled at the port terminal.

Westport handled 48 per cent of the box traffic totaling 2.61 million TEUs during period. Total number of new services connecting the port during the period rose impressively. In the long-haul sector Hanjin Shipping initiated a new Pendulum Express service that is operated with 12 super post panamax carriers. The carriers with 5,500 TEU's carrying capacity each calls Hong Kong-Kaoshiung-Long Beach-Oakland - Beijing-Pusan-Seattle -Yantian.

In addition to that, Hanjin Shipping has also started a new service that connects three Australian ports namely Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Hanjin Shipping has expanded the PDW service which links Felixstowe- Hamburg- Le Havre-Beijing-Rotterdam.