Hubei plans to develop massive port

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By Hou Qingyang and Zhou Lihua (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-07 08:08

Hubei plans to develop massive port
Yangluo port in Wuhan is under development. Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province, is expected to be built into the largest river port in Asia by 2030. [CFP]

Authorities in Hubei have announced ambitious plans to build new docks, railways and roads around the provincial capital of Wuhan, a development they said will make the city the biggest river port in Asia by 2030.

The move is part of a plan to speed up the industrialization of the Yangtze Economic Zone to benefit from effective river transportation.

"Hubei's Yangtze Economic Zone, with an area of more than 70,000 sq km, will become a convenient logistics hub of the Yangtze River and Central China, a modern base for a variety of industries and an ecologically friendly home for urban dwellers by 2020," said Zhang Chang'er, a member of the provincial standing committee of the Communist Party of China.

The proposed new Wuhan port comprises 22 districts, covering 173 km.

However, the proposal does not go far enough, according to one observer.

"It should be extended as far as Huangshi, a downstream port district only 70 km from Wuhan, so we can have a greater Wuhan port that smoothly connects with railways and highways," said Wu Xinmu, an economics professor at Wuhan University.

Wu said another challenge is overlapping administrations.

"The new Wuhan port will integrate docks that used to be owned and managed by different enterprises or local administrations. Only through integration can we improve efficiency," Wu said.

The docks are being designed to take advantage of river transportation and also develop local industry with the facilitation of advanced logistics systems.

Benefits to industry

"We manufacture heavyweight power transformers, and the most important transportation means is by river or sea," said Hakan Karadogan, unit managing director of SEC AREVA in Wuhan.

"With the further construction of the Yangtze River transportation infrastructure, we will achieve faster and more reliable shipments of our products," Karadogan said.

SEC AREVA is a leading power transformer provider. The company opened a new factory in Wuhan in May.

"We believe that the plan will be a positive influence for the local economy and for businesses here," Karadogan said.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industries)

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