Shanghai eyes 33m teu throughput by 2015
China's Shanghai port is aiming for a modest 4.1% improvement to its container throughput by 2015 from the 31.7m teu recorded in 2011, according to the city's first five-year plan for the shipping industry, Seatrade Asia Online reports.
Shanghai, the world's largest container port, targets 33m of container traffic by 2015, a figure it hopes will allow the port to remain the leader even when growth is affected by slowing global trade.
China's State Council also targets to develop Shanghai into a major financial and shipping centre by 2020, and the new plan outlines some tasks for the city to complete by 2015.
The plan includes creating a market for secondhand vessels with an annual turnover of RMB10bn ($1.58bn) and establishing an international cruise base with 500 arrivals and departures.
Another effort in the period through 2015 is to enhance the capacity of inland waterways connecting Shanghai port and neighbouring areas in the Yangtze River Delta region to reduce road usage.
About 42% of Shanghai port cargoes are now shipped via waterways rather than by road or rail. The city aims to raise that to 45% by 2015.