S'pore port overtakes HK's

S'pore port overtakes HK's

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore has dethroned Hong Kong as the world's number one container port, with port operator PSA Corp. Ltd. saying Tuesday it had handled a record quantity of freight last year.

Throughput rose seven percent to a record 15.1 million twenty- foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 1998, despite a shipping slowdown due to the regional economic crisis, officials said, projecting similar growth this year.

This "made Singapore the world's number one container port," PSA Corp. said.

Singapore has been engaged in a neck-and-neck race with Hong Kong for the honor of being the world's top container port.

Industry figures show Hong Kong handled 14.65 million TEUs last year after retaking the lead from Singapore in 1997.

But PSA Corp. Chairman Yeo Ning Hong noted that last year's growth of seven percent was lower than the nine percent posted in 1997.