KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- Westport Malaysia announced that a new terminal has added its cargo-handling capacity by an additional one million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year.

"The port can easily handle five million TEUs annually," Westport said in a statement. The port has just completed the expansion of 60 acres (24 hectares) of container terminal space and four new lanes at its container clearance gate. The expansion added an additional 5,000 ground slots and 17,500 TEUs in stacking capacity.

In addition, the port commissioned its last phase of 300-metre wharf extension and it currently boasts 2.6 kilometres of wharf length and nine berths in total. "The expansion allows us to be supply-driven and to be ready to accommodate the future growth of the container trade," Westport's executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam said. Westport said with the expansion, shipping lines would have better berth availability at the terminal.

The larger size ships calling at the port are now averaging 8,500 TEUs, the port said. It added that the natural water depth of the port allowed vessels even as big as 14,000 TEUs to berth easily and safely. "Thus, even as the future sees larger and bigger vessels traversing the seas soon, Westport has all the infrastructure in place today to cater for tomorrow's challenges," the port said. Container traffic in the port has grown 18 percent in the third quarter to 755,680 TEUs this year from 641,111 TEUs in the same corresponding period last year. According to Westport, the China-Europe trade is the main driver for this business.

"The expansion is timely, as it is believed to meet the port's demand forecasts and upbeat momentum of the industry due to the trade boom between the East and West," the port said. "In addition, the port's efficiency and consistency in maintaining its productivity above fastport standards, has earned it praise and confidence of the world's major shipping lines," it added. Shipping lines such as CMA CGM, China Shipping, GoldStar, Maersk, Norasia and others find that it is important that the port provides the capacity before the ships are put into service, Westport said. "With the production boom in China, every major shipping line is adding higher capacity ships into existing services," it said. By next year, the largest container carriers will average more than 9,000 TEUs, the port added.

BERNAMA, 28.11.2005