The freight volume of south China’s Pearl River set a new record in 2019 by exceeded 1 billion tonnes, second only to that of Yangtze River in China.
According to the Pearl River Administration of Navigational Affairs under the Ministry of Transport, the river’s freight volume, which ranks second in the world, increased by 5.5% year on year in 2019.
Adding to this, the container throughput on the river hit 14 million TEU in the period, a 13.4% year on year increase.
In March 2019, data from the National Bureau of Statistics highlighted that the overall freight volume transferred to China experienced an increase of 7.1% year-on-year to 51.5 million tonnes in 2018.
According to the Pearl River Administration of Navigational Affairs under the Ministry of Transport, the river’s freight volume, which ranks second in the world, increased by 5.5% year on year in 2019.
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According to the Bureau’s data, China’s freight throughput at some of its most crucial ports reached the 13.3 billion tonnes in 2018, experiencing an increase of 2.7%, in comparison to 2017. Moreover, foreign trade throughput resulted to up to 4.2 billion tonnes, rising by 2%.
Xinhua now reports that 53 water transport projects were under construction on the river in 2019, including ports, shipping channels and facilities, with a total investment of 62 billion yuan, which amounts to nearly 8.92 billion U.S. dollars.
The administration’s planning official, Wu Caiying, said the development of the Pearl River waterway provides strong support for the economic development along the river.
In fact, the Pan-Pearl River Delta region is one of China’s economic powerhouses, including Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan, as well as Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
The regional cooperation mechanism was launched in 2004.
According to Xinhua news agency, China’s cargo throughput at ports rapidly increased by 8% year on year to 11.5 billion tonnes in the first ten months of 2019.
Specifically, container throughput at ports achieved a 4.5% rise to about 217 million TEUs in the first ten months. Similarly, the foreign trade cargo throughput reached the 3.6 million tonnes from January to October, presenting a 4.4% increase year on year.
Moreover, in early 2019, the Ministry of Transport expanded the statistical range from only the crucial ports of China, to all ports across the country.
In the meantime, the cargo throughput growth at ports was the result of the steady expansion of China’s waterway freight volume, which increased 6.5% year on year to 6.1 billion tonnes in the first 10 months.
