From Johor Bahru Directory
| The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is today the largest port in Malaysia, outstripping Port Klang in 2003.
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Location of Tanjung Pelepas
Wisma PTP, headquarters of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas
The Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) is a container port on the eastern mouth of the Pulai River in southwest Johor. Officially launched by the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, on 13 March 2000, its intended purpose is to capture part of the lucrative business of the Port of Singapore by intercepting ships before they could reach the Singaporean port. To this intent, it has been very successful and four years later in 2004, the Port of Tanjung Pelepas became the world's 16th busiest container port and also the largest port in Malaysia today.
Key success factors
- Strategic alliance: The phenomenal success of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas is, to a large extent, due to its strategic alliance with Denmark's Maersk Sealand, the world's largest container ship operator, which took a 30% equity stake in the port's holding company in 2000, as well as the running of the port's operation. This resulted in a direct drop of 10% in business at the Singaporean port as Maersk shifted all of its operations from Singapore to Tanjung Pelepas.
- Strategic location: The success of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas also hinges on its close proximity to the busy sea lanes on which the Port of Singapore derived its success for nearly two centuries. Tanjung Pelepas, apart from being a naturally deep harbor, also has a turning basin of 720 meters that allows ships of all sizes to turn easily. Besides being close to the Tuas Second Link which leads to Singapore, the port is also linked directly to the main Malaysian expressways, as well as to rail access that extends into Southern Thailand. Additionally, Tanjung Pelepas has a huge land bank which offers low-cost land and building costs in the free commercial zone.[1] The entire master plan of the Port of Tanjung Pelepas envisages over 95 berths, extending from the mouth of the Pulai River to the Tuas Second Link, with a terminal handling capacity of 150 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEU), making it the only port in Southeast Asia with long term potential to handle increasingly growing container traffic.[2]
- Pricing: Prices charged at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas were then 30% cheaper than the Port of Singapore.[1] As a result, Evergreen Marine Corporation, the then 2nd largest shipping company in the world after Maersk, shifted its operations from Singapore to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas. This 2002 event alarmed Singapore, with widespread speculation that other shipping lines were likely to follow suit, forcing Singapore to review its prices.
Facilities
The Port of Tanjung Pelepas development area consist of 2,000 acres for port terminal and about 1,000 acres for free trade zone. The free trade zone status was accorded in March 1998. With a total capacity of 8.4 million TEU per year, the port offers:
- 12 berths totalling 4.3 km of linear wharf length;
- 1.2 million square meters container yard which contains around 200,000 TEU in storage space, 38,000 ground slot and 4,200 reefer points;
- 44 Super Post-Panamax quay cranes servicing the berths, of which:
- 11 have a 22-row outreach and dual hoist 40’ pick;
- 30 have a 22 rows outreach and twin 20’ lift;
- 138 rubber tyred gantry cranes, 274 prime movers, and 361 trailers operating around the container facility; and
- 14-lane gate terminal and 6-lane FTZ to ensure the smooth turn-round time for import and export containers.
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