PSA Corp Ltd, which runs the world's second-busiest container port after Hong Kong, said on Tuesday it moved a record 20.6 million twenty-foot containers in Singapore last year and plans a major expansion to meet demand. The 2004 figure was up 14.1 percent from the 18.1 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) handled in 2003 and reflects a surge in regional shipping triggered by China's economic boom.
PSA said it would build 15 new berths at a Singapore terminal over the next five to seven years to expand its annual handling capacity to 31 million TEUs from 20 million TEUs. It currently has 37 container berths in Singapore.
PSA, the world's largest transshipment hub, is facing mounting regional competition, especially from next-door Malaysia, whose ports offer handling charges as much as 30 percent cheaper than those in Singapore.
Owned by government investment agency Temasek Holdings, the PSA has fought back in recent years, offering a mix of rebates and discounts to container ships to claw back market share.
"In addition to the strong organic growth in volumes from existing shipping services, PSA Singapore Terminals welcomed a bumper crop of 36 new services in 2004 - more than double the 15 services it took on the year before," the PSA statement said.