Singapore ports continued to grow this year as January figures from the Maritime Port Authority (MPA) showed a 13.6 per cent rise in container throughput to 2.5 million TEUs from 2.2 million previously.
Dominant port player PSA accounted practically for all of those gains with 2.4 million TEUs passing through, up from 2.1 million in January 2007. Jurong Port had throughput of 71,000 TEUs, unchanged from the year-ago period.
In addition, MPA figures also showed Singapore maintaining its prominence as a bunkering centre with a 21.7 per cent rise in bunker fuel sold to 2.8 million tonnes from 2.3 million tonnes previously.
Growing volumes on the intra-Asian and Asia-Europe and Asia-Middle East trades will likely benefit Singapore as boxes pass through its ports.
PSA is well positioned to take advantage of the continuing boom in shipping. Its Pasir Panjang terminal will have 26 berths under the first two phases scheduled to be completed by 2009.
These developments will bring annual container handling capacity across PSA's four Singapore terminals to 35 million TEUs.
And the planners are already looking even further ahead - phase three and four will see another 16 berths being added in Pasir Panjang with annual handling capacity of 14 million TEUs.
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