Guangzhou's new container port in Nansha is operating at only about 25 per cent of capacity, industry sources say.
Since opening on September 28 last year, the port's first four berths have handled 130,000 20-foot equivalent units (teu) - or 10,800 teu per berth per month. Each berth is designed to handle more than 41,000 teu a month.
A south China port executive yesterday said containers were barged from Shenzhen ports upriver to Nansha for its official opening, making it appear busier than it really was. That practice continued for at least Nansha's first month of operations, so vessels calling there would have something to pick up.
Xiong Wenhui, an economic development director at the Nansha Port Development Centre, referred questions to other port officials who could not be reached for comment.
Nansha is served by two mainland shipping lines. State-owned China Shipping Container Lines calls at the port three times a week, while Cosco Container Lines (Coscon) operates two unscheduled services to Nansha every month.
A spokesman for Coscon said the company would eventually transfer its services at Huangpu, Guangzhou's original port, to Nansha. 'With Nansha, we don't need to barge cargo from Huangpu to Hong Kong or Shenzhen. It saves trucking costs of US$100 per teu.'
