Westports hit highest quarterly volume

Westports in Malaysia has experienced a 20% surge in container volumes in the first quarter of this year, with a container throughput of 1.5m teu, the highest ever quarterly achievement to date. This compared to 1.2m teu for the same period last year.


Local volumes increased by 13%, while transhipment was up by 30% giving Westports an overall market share of 66% in Port Klang.


The March container volume of 527,267 tue was 25% higher than that achieved for the same month in 2010 and helped the port achieve a monthly average in excess of 20,000 teu handled each day. According to the company, this puts the facility on a strong platform to achieve 6m teu for 2011. Westports also handled more than 40,000 units of ro-ro vehicles.


“The outlook for 2011 remains positive and I foresee our annual container throughput notching double-digit growth for 2011. The container port sector still has an upside potential as overseas economies continue to improve," said Ruben Gnanalingam, Westports’ CEO.


Construction work has already started on the first 300 metre berth of Container Terminal (CT) 6, which will be ready by the second half of this year. The second 300 metre phase is scheduled to be completed by the middle of 2012. Gnanalingam also said that with CT-7 scheduled to be ready by 2013.


In line with this development, eight new quay cranes will be delivered this year, followed by another 7 next year.
(Source:http://www.container-mag.com)