(SINGAPORE) PSA Singapore Terminals has bought $400 million worth of quay cranes from the world's largest maker, Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co (ZPMC).

The cranes have twice the capacity of PSA's existing units and are designed to handle the newest mega-containerships with a capacity of more than 13,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). The cranes will be phased in from 2008.

PSA said yesterday it has invested $5 billion over the past 10 years in Pasir Panjang Terminal (PPT), which has helped generate 6,000 jobs in the port industry.

Phase II of PPT, to be completed by 2009, will raise Singapore's container-handling capacity to 35 million TEUs by 2009, from just under 25 million TEUs last year.

Last year's number put Singapore at the top of the world rankings in throughput for the second year running, ahead of other Asian ports like Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Singapore plans to double its port capacity to 50 million TEUs a year by 2018 to keep up with surging global trade. In the first eight months of this year, PSA reported a 13.7 per cent year-on-year increase in volume to 17.8 million TEUs.

'To meet our customers' shipping needs now and into the future, PSA must be well equipped with cutting-edge technologies and assets,' said Kuah Boon Wee, PSA's chief executive for South-east Asia and Singapore Terminals.

The new cranes have an outreach of 22 container rows and are equipped with 40-ft Tandem Lift capacity, which means they can lift two 40-foot containers or four 20-footers at the same time. The largest of PSA's existing cranes - also made by ZPMC, which has 70 per cent of the world's quay crane market - can carry two 20-foot containers simultaneously.

Related link: Click here for PSA's news release

The new cranes will cater to giant containerships, the largest of which are still under construction. The biggest vessel to visit Singapore so far is the 11,000-TEU Emma Maersk, which called during its maiden voyage last year.

Twin 40-foot container cranes increase productivity remarkably and have been successful in Dubai, Yantian and Yangshan in China, and Hamburg in Germany, said Zhou Ji Chang, chairman of the China Communications Construction Group, a major shareholder in ZPMC. PSA's $400 million order is one of the largest single purchases, he said.

PSA said Singapore is the first port in South-east Asia to order cranes of this kind.