Guangzhou Port Group has announced plans to invest CNY3 billion (USD484 million) to expand the deepwater channel of the port to meet the demand for two-way transport of large vessels.
The expansion project will start from Nansha port area in the north to the deepwater area in the west of Aizhou island at the Pearl River estuary, covering Koumen channel, Dahao channel, and Linding channel. Approximately 66.6 km of the phase-three outbound channel will be expanded to 385 m wide and 17 m deep.
A total of 65.2 million m³ of soil will be dredged, part of which will be unloaded at the temporary ocean deposit area while another part will be reclaimed to Longxue Island.
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Once completed, 100,000 dwt container ships (fully loaded) and 150,000 dwt container ships (not fully loaded) can enter and exit the port at the same time.
The total investment of the project will be CNY2.94 billion, CNY30.4 million of which will be for environmental protection, representing 1.03% of the total.
Currently, channels within Guangzhou port are able to allow one-way navigation of 100,000 dwt box ships (not at high tide) and 120,000 dwt bulk carriers (at high tide), as well as two-way navigation of 50,000 dwt container ships (not at high tide). However, ships over 50,000 dwt can only navigate in one way in the channel from Nansha port area to the Pearl River estuary.
Last year, Guangzhou port has handled a total of 500 million tonnes of cargo and 16.6 million teu, up 5.9% and 7.1% than the previous year, ranking in fourth and fifth places among all Chinese ports respectively.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
