On February 15th, the opening ceremony of the new berths and new routes was held at COSCO SHIPPING Ports Quan Zhou Pacific Terminal (CSP Quanzhou Terminal).
According to company’s press release, after the new berth is officially put into operation, it is expected to help Quanzhou Shihu Port to be further upgraded to a first-class comprehensive port in the western region of Taiwan Strait.
This time, COSCO SHIPPING Lines and OOCL, subsidiaries of COSCO SHIPPING Group has newly opened two international container liner routes to Port of Singapore and Port Klang from Shihu Port Area in Quanzhou, adding new vitality to the strengthening of international economic and trade exchanges in Quanzhou.
COSCO SHIPPING Ports will take this new route as a new starting point, leverage on Quanzhou’s well-developed industrial clusters, deepen the cooperation between ports and shipping companies, strengthen the linkage between ports, attract more new routes to call here, and build Shihu Port Area into a gathering place for international trade and marine cargo. It will help the thousand-year-old port to further connect with the world, and contribute new strength to the economic prosperity and development of Quanzhou and even Fujian.
The berths number 5 and 6 in the Shihu Area of Quanzhou Port were constructed by CSP Quanzhou Terminal and includes two container berths that can handle vessels of up to 100,000 tons, and associated infrastructure such as container yards, and is an important construction project of Fujian Province.
The concepts of ‘Smart Ports’ and ‘Green and Low Carbon Development’ were integrated into the design and construction process. At the opening ceremony, 5 unmanned automated trucks participated in the loading and unloading of the ships.
Currently, only Phase 1 of the Project has begun operations. When the entire project is completed, the throughput capacity of the Shihu Area of Quanzhou Port will be increased by 40% to 3 million TEU per year, which will better serve the domestic and international container transport needs of Quanzhou city and its surrounding areas
As the new berths begin to operate, COSCO SHIPPING Group will take advantage of its internal synergy, reflected in the fact that there will be two new Southeast Asia trunk routes operating under dual brands (COSCO SHIPPING/OOCL).
2023 coincides with the 10th anniversary of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, and as the BRI and RCEP both start to take shape, the industry and economy of Quanzhou will enjoy many significant opportunities to develop further. CSP Quanzhou Terminal will grasp these opportunities, using the opening of the two new berths to play a role in the ‘dual circulation’ of the Chinese economy.
