Westports Malaysia expects the terminal to handle 5.2 million TEUs this year, up from 4.5 million last year, said its executive chairman G. Gnanalingam.

He said the last few months has seen a growth in shipments on the back of the recovery of regional economies, reported Reuters.

"We have reached a big inflexion point in terms of shipping and this has been seen in our manpower (needs)," he said.

Westports recorded five million TEUs, the standard measurement for shipping containers, in 2008.