Naturally endowed with superb port conditions at the Yangtze riverside, Zhangjiagang, one of China's first-class port cities in Jiangsu Province, recently revealed its plan to expand its logictics infrastructure and build a modern logistics center to better serve the increasing flow of goods through the Yangtze River.

For years, Zhangjiagang has served as an important gateway for the opening-up of the Yangtze River basin. With an annual handling capacity of over 40 million tons, the port has become the largest commercial port of international trade along the Yangtze River and the largest transit port in China for wood and soybean imports.

Zhangjiagang Port handled 200,000 containers and received 2,206 overseas ships last year. The amount of imports of soybean, wood, wool, chemicals and exports of rice through the port ranked number one in China.

The city boasts 33 kilometers of deep-water lines of the Yangtze River, and its port consists of 42 berths -- 33 of which are capable of handling ships above 10,000 tons.

The port is linked with all major ports around the country and offers 18 international shipping lines to countries in Asia, Europe and North America. It has established business contacts with 140 overseas ports.

``Supported by the advantages of deep-water riverlines, fast-growing port businesses and riverside industrial groups, the riverside logistics industry is becoming a new point of growth for the local economy in Zhangjiagang,'' said Cao Fulong, Party Secretary of the Zhangjiagang City Party Committee.

``Facing the fast-increasing flow of goods through the Yangtze River, we have set a new target to turn Zhangjiagang Port into a modern logistics center and an important international freight and logistics transit,'' said Cao.

The city, famous for its reputation as a "hygenic garden city" in China with a moderate population of 850,000, has started to re-organize its port and riverline resources to form a multi-purpose logistics system.

Its special wharfs for chemicals, grain and edible oil and food, construction materials and metallurgical products will be given greater play and the service quality of local ports will be improved to help increase the flow of goods.

``To cope with the development of the city's riverside pillar industries -- the chemical industry, metallurgical industry, grain and food industry and construction material industry -- Zhangjiagang will inject a huge sum of funds to build more than 10 berths to ensure overall port container-handling capcity reaches 400,000 TEUs and goods-handling capacity surpasses 90 million tons in 2007,'' said Cao.

If the target is reached, Zhangjiagang will become the first 100-million-ton-level port in Jiangsu Province.

``The city is also planning to establish a modern logistics platform which should be supported by a well-developed electronic information network, an efficient public service system and a number of logistics enterprises that will conduct more than 60 percent of the logistics businesses for local industrial and commercial enterprises,'' said the city's top official.

He revealed that the city has applied to higher authorities for opening an automobile port to help nourish the local automobile market.

(By Ma Zhiping)

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