A SUBSIDIARY of China Ocean Shipping Co (Cosco) has formed a joint venture to manage Ningbo's Beilun container port.
The port now has just one container terminal, and the new operators intend to convert two general freight terminals into container handlers.
A Ningbo Port Authority spokesman said Cosco and Ningbo Beilun Container Co would be the major shareholders in the joint venture, while a third party would hold a 1 per cent stake.
The total investment in the joint venture is US$29.98 million (about HK$231.6 million), he said.
Despite years of negotiation, Beilun port - a major deep water port in China - has yet to attract foreign investors to build more container berths. A possible deal with Wharf Holdings collapsed in 1993.
Since then, talks between Ningbo Port Authority and Wharf's subsidiary, Modern Terminals (MTL), have failed to generate an agreement.
Earlier reports had indicated that Beilun was planning to build four more container berths, but the spokesman said the project has yet to be approved by the State Planning Commission.