Shanghai is about to start the fourth phase of the expansion of the Yangshan Port, a project that will add more than 40 per cent to the handling capacity of the deepwater port.
The city government, awaiting a nod from the National Development and Reform Commission, plans to spend more than 10 billion yuan (HK$12 billion) on the development of new deepwater berths, according to Wang Xuan, chief engineer with Shanghai Tongsheng Investment, in charge of building the Yangshan port.
The expanded project, expected to be completed in 2015, will have an annual capacity of four million 20-foot equivalent units (teu).
Shanghai, the world's busiest container port, handled 29 million teus last year. At Yangshan, which became operational at the end of 2005, the throughput last year topped 10 million teus, exceeding its designed capacity of 9.3 million based on its three completed phases.
'The timing of expansion is in compliance with the real business growth,' Wang said.
'We were prepared for this new phase of construction.'
Yangshan Port is a megaproject endorsed by the central government to reinforce Shanghai's bid to become a global shipping centre. The Yangshan Islands are connected to the coast by a 32-kilometre bridge.
