More main line operators' container vessels will be calling at the Sapangar Bay Container Port in Kota Kinabalu with the arrival of two Panamax-size ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, said the port??s chief operating officer Mohd Shahid Nawab Khan.

Bought from Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co Ltd (ZPMC) at a cost of US$13.78 million, the new gantry cranes are expected to be commissioned by March next year, reported Business Times.

Mohd Shahid said the new gantry commissioning of the new cranes will further enhance the shipside container handling productivity and efficiency of the port.

Equipped with a handling capacity of 40 tonnes and boom outreach of 38m, the new cranes will be used for loading and unloading of containers in addition to the existing three units of mobile harbour cranes currently available at the port.

The SBCP is managed by Sabah Port, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Suria Capital Holdings.