Taipei Port opens 2 new box terminals as Cross-Strait ties improve

TAIWAN's Port of has been expanded to take advantage of Cross-Strait shipping ties with mainland China in the hope of becoming a hub shipping facility for the Asia Pacific region.

This comes as two new container terminals have been officially opened at the Port of Taipei, construction of which was carried out by ocean shipping lines Evergreen Marine Corp, Wan Hai Lines and Yangming Marine Transport Corp under the build-operate-transfer model.

The trio have jointly invested approximately NT$20.3 billion (US$583 million) in the project and established Taipei Port Container Terminal Corp (TPCT) to manage operations of the terminal, with Evergreen holding 50 per cent of the company's shares, Wan Hai 40 per cent and Yangming 10 per cent, a report by the Taipei Times said.

To facilitate connections to the new box handling facilities an expressway connecting the Port of Taipei to Freeway No. 1 and the Greater Taipei area has also been constructed at a cost of NT$26.6 billion.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for the two new container terminals, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou was cited as saying that the Port of Taipei still has plenty of room for more land reclamation projects, which should help create an area measuring 70 million cubic metres for logistics services.

The report added that since the port is 24 kilometres from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, a close-knit network could be formed between the port and the Taoyuan Airport Zone.

Source: Schednet