Taiwan Port of Taipei set for expansion

Taiwan's Port of Taipei is planning a $558 million expansion over eight years, creating an alternative to existing major ports as trade with China is expected to boom, an official said on Friday. The expansion, occuring in at least three phases, will raise the port's profile but not likely rival the island's No. 1 port in Kaohsiung, which handles about 10 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) per year, and the No. 2 port in Keelung, which handles about 2 million annually.

The expansion's first phase, a 48-hectare container terminal worth about T$2 billion ($60 million), will be put up for a build-operate-transfer (BOT) bid at the end of the year, Keelung Harbour Bureau Director-General Hsiao Ding-hsun told Reuters.

Keelung's harbour authorities oversee the Port of Taipei's operations.

A 123-hectare offshore storage zone costing T$2.6 billion will also go for a BOT bid at the end of 2009, Hsiao said in an interview, and a T$14 billion container terminal also covering 123 hectares should go for a bid within three to four years.

Taipei's port will draw on trade from China because it is relatively close to the major Chinese coastal cities of Shanghai and Fuzhou, as well as points further north, Hsiao said.

Currently, the port sees about 10 million revenue tonnes of cargo per year. Port officials said they could not estimate the capacity after the expansion is complete.

Last month, Taiwan and China, a historic political rival as well as the island's biggest trading partner, kicked off a landmark deal opening direct shipping links for the first time in six decades. The deal spares ships the time and expense of routing cargo through third regions.

But a steep downturn in Taiwan's economy could chill shipping in the short term, Hsiao said. The island's exports have tumbled in the past few months as the world economy slows. In December exports fell by a record 42 percent.

It's the idea of trigger-point management, Hsiao said. You could need this new capacity after three to four years. But direct shipping links with China are an opportunity. We can send things there like an express service.

Next month, three of Taiwan's top shipping firms, Evergreen Marine (2603.TW), Yang Ming Marine (2609.TW) and Wan Hai Lines (2615.TW) will open operations at the existing Port of Taipei.

Source: http://www.reuters.com