More shipping lines to switch to Malaysia within the next decade

More shipping lines are expected to switch hubs to Malaysia within the next five to ten years, drawn by Malaysian ports' attractive pricing and capability in handling cargo volumes.

Westports Malaysia director Ruben Emir Gnanalingam said that while Singapore has more shipping line hubs, the island state had limited capacity and prices in Malaysia were still substantially cheaper. Singapore is also currently the largest handler of trans-shipment cargo volume in the Southeast Asian region, handling 28 million TEU of the 50 million in Southeast Asia while Malaysia handles 15 million TEU. Of the 15 million TEU, Westports is aiming for five million TEU this year. The three main ports for trans-shipment cargo currently are Westports, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Singapore. Ruben added that trans-shipment cargo volume in the Southeast Asian region was growing between 10 percent and 15 percent a year with an estimated 55 million TEU in 2008. Westports expects its new 600-metre berth to be fully operational by the fourth quarter of this year. The berth is part of CT5; a new container terminal Westports is constructing as part of its RM800 million (US$249.4 million) three-year expansion plan to boost annual capacity by some 30 percent.
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