Entry point the focus of program to create international shipping center within 3 years

Construction of port facilities and international cooperation will be given priority in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, which aims to build an international shipping center within three years, local authorities said on Tuesday.

Construction of the third phase of the Nansha port, a major component of the Guangzhou Port, will be completed this year.

The Nansha port, located in the new China (Nansha) Pilot Free Trade Zone, already has 10 container berths. The number of berths will increase to 16 after completion of the third phase.

Construction of the fourth phase will begin soon, making the Nansha port into one of the top five ports in the world in terms of handling capacity, according to the local port authority.

"Nansha, located in the southernmost part of the Pearl River (near the) Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, has advantages in terms of the development of shipping services," said Song Xiaoming, vice-general manager of Guangzhou Port Co Ltd.

According to Song, the Nansha port will mainly help handle cargo from the western part of the prosperous Pearl River Delta.

"The shipping services will also target trade between Southwest China and Southeast Asia," Song added.

The three-year plan is subject to approval by the local government. Under the plan, construction of bulk cargo terminals, expansion of deep-water channels and a harbor railway will soon begin.

"Enhanced development of shipping services in Nansha will facilitate development of the FTZ and China's Belt and Road Initiative," said Song.

The Guangzhou Port is one of 15 such facilities along China's coast to further open up services. These will support the Belt and Road Initiative, which was launched to facilitate ties between China and countries and regions along the ancient Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

In addition to construction of facilities, enhanced international cooperation will facilitate services at the Nansha port, according to Song.

The Nansha port will develop more than 60 international routes by the end of this year, most of which are linked with Southeast Asia and Africa.

In the first five months of this year, the Nansha port opened seven more Asian routes, linking countries and regions along the ancient maritime trade route.

"Shippers in Southeast Asia and Africa like to use the Nansha port, because they believe that it provides more efficient and cheaper services," said Song, adding that international business generates more than 90 percent of the port's total business. And that segment is growing fast.

For example, cargo shipped from the port to Vietnam increased 108.4 percent from a year earlier in the first four months of this year, according to the port authority.

Many leading shipping companies such as Maersk, COSCO Group and American President Lines have developed business at the Nansha port.

During a recent visit to Los Angles, Guangzhou Mayor Chen Jianhua signed agreements with his counterparts from Auckland and Los Angeles to develop closer shipping ties.

Industry observers said that the Guangzhou Port should not simply target "being big" but should also develop more high-end services such as shipping finance.

"We are lagging behind in terms of such services, compared with the world's leading ports in London, New York and Hong Kong," said Huang Bo, an official at the Guangzhou Port Authority.

Services including shipping finance, logistics and insurance, ship maintenance and supply should be developed along with expansion of the port handling capacity, according to Huang.

qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn