Asian ports will shift to providing value-added services rather than cost incentives to draw customers in the wake of intensifying competition, a port executive says. The statement was made by Mohamed Sidik Shaik Osman, chief executive of Malaysian Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), which recently has thrown down the gauntlet to neighbouring Singapore giant PSA Corp by weaning away Maersk-Sealand. He said at the Terminal Operations Conference in Hong Kong that the increased need for transshipment activity in Asia had seen the emergence of new hub ports such as PTP. To prepare for the trade boom and the arrival of ever-bigger container ships, these ports were ensuring wide and deep access channels and wharves, he added. PTP, a relative newcomer to the port scene, also is acting to increase productivity to accommodate the larger vessels. The port, which handled more than 450,000 teu (20 ft equivalent units) last year, is aiming to move nearly 2.5 million teu this year. In his keynote address, Malaysian Minister of Transport Ling Liong Sik called on terminal operators to work with national governments to develop the industry for modern needs. Mr Ling cited the public/private partnerships in Malaysia to illustrate the need for major terminal operators and governments to collaborate to develop 'intelligent growth management'. He said 11 of the top 20 ports were in Asia and throughput had doubled in the past 10 years. Global container trade is set to rise to 339 million teu in 2005, up from 225 million teu last year. Of the figures, transshipment traffic will grow 66 per cent to 92.3 million teu in 2005. Mr Ling said the government planned to establish the Malaysian Ports Commission to ensure the country's ports remained competitive and it had been encouraging private investment in the terminal industry. The government recognised the expertise of global operators was crucial to ensuring the competitiveness of Malaysia's ports, he said. Last year, Maersk-Sealand and Hutchison Port Holdings of Hong Kong invested in PTP and Port Klang, Malaysia's two major ports, respectively. 'They will bring significant operational expertise and volume-generating global networks to our ports,' Mr Ling said. While playing down the competitive climate in which the Malaysian ports operate, he said prospects for the global container market were good, with enough growth for all players. Valeri Novikov, managing director of private Russian company Inter Valira, said at the conference that his company saw great potential in its North-South Route (Nostrac) project to transport containerised cargo from Europe to India and the Far East. He said an intermodal service on the route, linking Europe and India, was started last year by Russia's TransContinental Lines, using railways and ferries. The daily service offered a transit time of eight days from Hamburg to Dubai and 12 days to Calcutta, against 20 to 22 days by sea from Europe through the Suez Canal. Mr Novikov said the project was supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Russia, India and Iran signed an agreement last year to support the project. 'It is expected that several other states will join this agreement this year,' he said. Mr Novikov believed the route would probably be used to carry transit cargoes via Bandar Abbas not only to and from India, but also from Southeast Asia and the Far East. He said cotton already was exported from central Asia to South Korea in containers via Bandar Abbas instead of being shipped via Russian ports in the Far East. Three Russian companies - Lakor, Wagna Shipping and Volga Vaster - also had been offering since last year a container service from Moscow to India via the Caspian Sea and Iran, Mr Novikov added.