THE Tanjung Manis Integrated Port is expected to become the chief import and export gateway for the Sarawak central region in Malaysia when the facility becomes fully operational by 2011.
The port commenced operations in July 2009 and by October had handled 2,383 TEU and received 11 vessels. At present the port is capable of handling 25,000 TEU annually and is accessible to 20,000 gross register tonnage (GRT) vessels.
The port is a subsidiary of Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (STIDC) and has been appointed by the Rajang Port Authority as its port operator in the Tanjung Manis new township, reports Malaysia`s national news agency Bernama.
It cited STIDC general manager and Tanjung Manis Integrated Port chairman Datuk Len Talif Salleh as saying in the latest issue of Perkasa, the bi-monthly newsletter published by the corporation, that the existing 203-metre wharf would be extended by 200 metres to raise the port`s annual container handling capacity to 200,000 TEU and six million tonnes of general cargo by next year.
He said that when fully operational, the port will be equipped with quay cranes, mobile harbour cranes, rubber-tyred gantry cranes and reach stackers.
Mr Len added that "the port was envisaged to play a pivotal role in the shipping industry with the completion of the Sibu-Tanjung Manis road by this year and support the various industries in the hinterland, particularly the Tanjung Manis Halal Hub and other projects planned under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE)," the report added.