Nansha volumes skyrocketing

The Nansha container terminals in the Port of Guangzhou continued their unabated growth in May, with volume through the two west Pearl River Delta terminals climbing 31 percent and 538 percent from the same month in 2007.

The first terminal to open in Guangzhou's deepwater port development, Nasha Container Terminal, saw 31 percent growth, to 435,000 TEUs in May. For the year NCT has handled more than 2 million TEUs.

Meanwhile, the newer terminal, Guangzhou Oceangate Container Terminal, has seen its volume rise 538 percent to 205,000 TEUs in May. GOCT has handled 878,000 TEUs so far this year, growth of 916 percent over the first five months of 2007. Together, the two terminals have handled close to 3 million TEUs through five months of 2008.

Nansha is the only deepwater terminal on the west side of the Pearl River Delta. The east side sees steep competition between the various terminal complexes that comprise the Port of Shenzhen. Economic pressure on factories in east PRD is intensifying that pressure, as the government of Guangdong Province has induced manufacturing plants to move to areas of the province that are less developed, such as the west PRD.

The Guangzhou Port Group, which has a stake in both Nansha terminals as well as more than a dozen river terminals upstream on the Pearl River, has seen its throughput rise 39 percent to 3.9 million TEUs this year through May. 

Source: American Shipper