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Sino-French port agreement signed

By Chen Qide (China Daily Shanghai Bureau)
Updated: 2010-07-09 16:55

Dunkerque Port in France signed a partnership agreement with its Shanghai counterpart Friday as part of its effort to increase its business in China.

"The Chinese market is very important to us, although cargo sent to China at the moment is not as big as we expect," said Martine Bonny, CEO of Dunkerque Port.

It shipped only 350,000 tons of cargo to China and about 50,000 20-foot containers to Southeast Asia, including China, last year.

"We hope to have fast development in shipping containers, solid bulks and general cargo," Bonny said.

Insiders from Dunkerque said the agreement, part of its whole expansion strategy, is just a beginning in co-operating with Shanghai.

Sun Jianping, president of the Shanghai Transport and Port Authority, said under the agreement both sides will exchange information on policies and laws to cooperate in the areas of ocean-going transport, logistics and port industries.

The Shanghai port authority will send a delegation to France this October, said Daniel Deschodt, commercial director of Dunkerque Port.

Deschodt said the French port delegation Thursday visited China Shipping to discuss cooperation. "Some projects are under discussion," he said, but he didn't give details.

Dunkerque, the third largest port in France, has drafted a business proposal for 2013 as part of France's revival plan for French ports.

Bonny said it will remain a major industrial port for imports of iron ore and coal for the North European steel industries, and liquid bulk, crude oil and refined products for the local refinery.

The port board has approved a plan of investment focusing on energy, bulks and rail links, she said.

The investment program for this year amounts to 46.35 million euro, which will be used to launch projects aimed to develop container business and logistics, construct LNG and multi-bulk terminals and improve rail links.

"As these projects are completed, the port is expected to have an annual capacity of 70 million tons of cargo and 1 million of 20-foot containers," said Bonny.