Engineers and construction teams working on the US$1.8 billion first-phase of Shanghai's massive Yangshan container port have reeled the project back closer to its original schedule, with officials saying yesterday the deep-water facility would open for business in 2006.
In March, Shanghai mayor Han Zheng said the first-phase's opening would be delayed to 2007, two years later than its original 2005 target date.
Zhang Huimin, deputy managing commander of the Yangshan Deep-water Port Headquarters, said builders had fought through first-quarter equipment shortages, extreme weather and unprecedented technological challenges.
'The tides and the winds at Yangshan are very strong and have presented some real challenges to our initial construction goals,' said Mr Zhang, who is also deputy secretary general of the Shanghai municipal government.
'Our construction teams were perhaps not as skilful offshore as they are on land.
'We were lucky this year in that the weather was better than last and we managed to get in 240 construction days.'
Last year, strong winds and tidal flows at the Yangshan island group - situated about 70km from international waters at the mouth of the Yangtze River - played havoc with piling crews trying to set the foundations for the 31km, US$910 million Donghai bridge linking the port to Shanghai proper.