HOHHOT, March 30 -- North China's landlocked Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has planned to borrow a sea outlet from neighboring Hebei Province by setting up an industrial park with five wharfs in Caofeidian Port.

The Inner Mongolia regional commission of development and reform confirmed Wednesday that the regional government has clinched a framework agreement with the Hebei provincial government to set up the Inner Mongolia Port Industrial Park in Caofeidian, the second largest port in Hebei.

The industrial park, expected to cover 40 square km, will have access to five wharfs to facilitate the transportation of coal, ore minerals, containers, liquified chemicals and other commodities.

Inner Mongolia has become the country's leading coal producer with an output of 782 million tonnes in 2010. It is also the first region in China with coal output topping 700 million tonnes.

A spokesman with the regional development and reform commission said the port facilities in Hebei would boost the transportation of coal and chemical products from Inner Mongolia to other parts of the country. The region has started to construct railway links from its coal production areas to Caofeidian.

Caofeidian, an islet 220 kilometers east of Beijing in Bohai Bay, has deep-water wharfs to dock vessels of 300,000 tonnes. It's port handling capacity is 300 million tonnes a year.

Source: Xinhua