The Zhuangyuanao harbor district in Wenzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Wenzhou.gov.cn]
Wenzhou, a coastal city in East China's Zhejiang province, started construction on five large-scale wharfs on March 29, local media outlets reported.
Two wharfs, which belong to the second-phase project of the Zhuangyuanao harbor district, can berth vessels of up to 50,000 tons. They are expected to handle 1 million TEUs of cargo every year.
The other three wharfs, which are located in the Yueqing Bay harbor district, can berth vessels of up to 100,000 tons. The first one has a designed annual handling capacity of 9.25 million tons for coal and iron ore, the second has a capacity of 1 million tons for steel, sand and stone, and the third has a capacity of 4.52 million tons for cereals such as soybean, wheat and corn.
According to the director of the projects, the annual handling capacity of the Yueqing Bay and Zhuangyuanao harbor districts are expected to increase by 22.92 million tons and 1 million TEUs, respectively, after the projects are completed.
Wenzhou is striving to develop itself into an important port city as it will invest a total of 6 billion yuan ($945 million) during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period to achieve a combined handling capacity among its ports of 100 million tons by 2024 and 2 million TEUs by 2025.
Wenzhou currently has 169 wharfs, 20 of which can berth vessels of up to 10,000 tons. It has opened eight near-sea shipping lines and enjoys direct shipping connections with 13 domestic ports. The city handled a total of 79.75 million tons of cargo and 1.03 million TEUs in 2021.
