PSA, Dongguan to fund 1.4b yuan port development

Two-berth facility due to open in 2008 following years of municipal lobbying

Dongguan municipal authorities and the international port development arm of Singapore's PSA Corp have agreed to spend 1.4 billion yuan on a new container terminal at Humen, adding to south China's increasingly busy port scene.

The two-berth facility, due to open in 2008, will be Dongguan's first dedicated deep-sea container terminal, built on a greenfield site on the east bank of the Pearl River near the Humen Bridge.

'Dongguan is an ideal location for a terminal dedicated to intra-Asia trade,' said a mainland executive with knowledge of the deal. 'It has the richest cargo hinterland in Guangdong.'

The plan calls for a two-berth second phase, with the timing of construction depending on demand. PSA International will manage the port and take an 80 per cent stake in both phases. Its mainland partner, the municipally owned Dongguan Port Group, will hold the remainder.

PSA sources in Singapore yesterday declined to comment.

The first phase will have an annual handling capacity of 600,000 teu (20-ft equivalent units). The access route to the port is being dredged to a depth of 13 metres, suitable for the 3,000-teu to 4,000-teu capacity vessels that ply the booming intra-Asia trade routes.