An aerial view of a terminal in the Liuheng port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo/Tide News]

East China's Zhejiang province is ramping up efforts to strengthen its marine economy, with major investments in port construction and modern ocean fisheries.

In the Liuheng port area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Zhejiang, preparations are underway for a 6.5-billion-yuan ($908.71 million) project to construct two 200,000-metric-ton container berths, designed to dock ships with a capacity of 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent units.

With a designed annual capacity of 2 million TEUs, the site will become the port's largest container berth cluster, complementing the nearby Meishan port area. From January to June, 510 key marine projects saw 120 billion yuan in completed investments. This included 42 billion yuan for port projects and 5.93 billion yuan for fisheries. Of 25 new major provincial projects, 23 have already commenced.

Port operations have surged as a result. In the first half of 2025, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port handled 21.05 million TEUs, a 9.8 percent increase year-on-year. Marine fisheries also expanded, with seafood output reaching 2.013 million tons and primary industry output value growing by 5 percent to 43.38 billion yuan. Zhejiang led the nation in offshore fishing output, fleet size, and compliance with international agreements.