Loke: Govt supports PTP’S expansion plan
JOHOR BARU: The port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) would be able to take in 30 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUS) by 2030 following its expansion, which has received the support from the Federal Government.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said that Federal Government has given its full support for PTP to expand its capacity.
According to Loke, PTP presently could take up to 12.5 million TEUS in its capacity and envisages a steady growth of between eight to nine percent yearly.
“PTP is almost reaching its maximum level in handling TEUS and when its reaches about 9 million TEUS presently, its berth must be expanded for them to handle higher volume of TEUS.
“The expansion of ports, especially PTP, is utmost important as Malaysia is a maritime country where the port location along the Melaka Straits, which is one of the busiest sea routes in the world, will give Malaysia an advantage to become the major logistic hub in the region,” he said when met after officiating at the Johor Port Week and Port Conference 2019 at a hotel here yesterday.
Loke added that the government was committed in PTP’S expansion plan and he would be meeting with Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal to further discuss on the matter.
The expansion work would be carried out in several stages where it will take between five to 10 years after receiving the approval from the state government.
“PTP has many times requested to the government to expand its area and we believe now is the right time to widen it due to its high handling rate.
“The cost of its expansion will be borne by the private sector, which is also the port main operator,” he said.