Well-situated on the west coast of the Taiwan Straits, Jiangyin Port is gearing up to build itself into the shipping hub for the region and beyond.

A key project for international container and large-scale bulk cargo transshipment, the port in Fuqing, a city neighboring Fujian, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, has ideal natural conditions to develop a shipping center - wide harbors and deep water.

Most of its approach channels are more than 17 m deep and the harbor's breadth ranges from 9 to 15 km.

With 7.12 km of coastline, the port can accommodate 30 deep-water berths. Some stretches are suitable for ultra-large deep-water berths, each with a handling capacity of 200,000 to 300,000 tons, experts said.

An advanced operational system and a widespread distribution network make the port capable of catering to international shipping services.

Since its first oceangoing container line was established in October 2003, the port has opened seven international shipping routes, covering North America, Africa, Europe, Middle East, South Asia, Japan and South Korea.

Opening more overseas routes is now on the agenda of port authorities.

Due to its location, it is already busy with shipping between the Straits and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Vast hinterland provinces such as Jiangxi have forged increasingly close cooperation with Jiangyin, giving the hectic port an even sharper edge.

Valuing its location as headwaters for inland markets and production, many global shipping lines, including Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping, CMA CGM, and COSCO all begun operations at the port.

To attract more business, port authorities plan to release favorable new policies including road fee rebates.

An Australian company plans to build an ore and coal distribution center, according to port authorities.

In addition, a United States firm plans to establish an Asian food distribution center and ship surplus grain from the US to Jiangyin, the authorities revealed. The grain will be distributed to inland regions of China and other Asian countries.

Foods from China will then be shipped from the port back to the US.

Container terminal

The port's container business has been enjoying a brisk growth since its international container terminal was put into use in 2003.

Annual throughput of the port reached 288,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2007, rising 47 percent over 2006.

Because Maersk began shifting its container business to Jiangyin in February, the port's annual container throughput this year is projected to exceed 600,000 TEUs.

The container terminal is operated by Fuzhou International Container Terminal (FICT), a joint venture established in 2001.

Fuzhou Port Group and Singapore-based PSA hold 46 and 40 percent stakes of the company respectively.

Five 50,000-ton berths are on the company's development plan. Three have been completed and been put into operation. Others are expected to be put into service at the end of this year.

By Hu Meidong