Shanghai to surpass 11-million-TEU traffic in 2003
The port of Shanghai, China’s largest, is expected to handle a container traffic of 11 million TEUs in 2003, about two million more than in the previous year, COSCO reported.
This follows a growth in volume of 36 percent in 2002, when the port moved 8.6 million TEUs.
In the first 11 months of 2003, Shanghai handled a record 10 million TEUs.
The Chinese port is now expected to rank as the world’s third-largest container port, after Hong Kong and Singapore, but ahead of the Korean port of Busan.
“Currently, Shanghai Port comprises 28 container berths and boasts 15 international services to Japan, Southeast Asia, the U.S. West Coast, South America, Europe, the Mediterranean, the (Middle East) Gulf, Africa, Australia and Russia, etc…,” COSCO said.
The Chinese carrier reported that Shanghai is expected to handle 25.4 million TEUs by 2020.
The port is planning a huge deepwater port, Yangshan. “According to the Yangshan deepwater port layout, the Big Yangshan and Small Yangshan regions can be capable of accommodating over 50 ‘super-Panamax’ container berths, with project I… to be completed at the end of 2005, handling a capacity of over three million TEUs,” COSCO said.