Bottleneck Hindrance to Port Transport Relieved InitiallyDuring the Ninth Five-year Plan, China has invested 42 million yuan for coastal seaport construction, with emphasis placed on transport system construction relating to coal, container, the import of iron ores and grain, continental island roll on/roll off and deepwater channel to the sea, construction of the container transport system, in particular, has been strengthened. As a result, the bottleneck restriction resulted from port transportation on the national economy has been initially alleviated. It's estimated that 93 medium-sized berths including 82 deepwater berths will be built, which will increase the handling capacity by 145 million tons.It's reported that during the "Ninth Five-year Plan" period, emphasis has been put on structural readjustment in China's coastal port construction and the construction of container harbors and other large deepwater ports has been intensified. It is estimated that by the end of 2000, the handling capacity of specialized container berths in coastal ports will reach 12 million containers, thereby laying a foundation for the formation of China's key container ports. In order to meet the need for the passage of large ships, China has dredged the sea-routes of major ports, taking a big step forward in conformity with the development trend of international shipping service. At the same time, China has built a group of roll-on/roll-off ports and continental island transport ports, thus basically solving the transportation problem of islands inhabited by more than 3,000 people and laying the foundation for improving local people's livelihood and developing the island economy. By the end of 2000, China's coastal ports will have 2,400 berths of medium and larger size, including over 640 deepwater berths in coastal seaports with a handling capacity reaching 988 million tons. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |