Hunan water container transport volume rises 52pc annually

HUNAN province's water container transport volume had shot from 1,929 TEU in 1993 to 101,632 in 2006, meaning an average annual growth of 52 per cent in 14 years, Xinhua reported.

Statistics show, the central China province where Yangtze River runs through handled 122,000 TEU from January to October this year. In 2006, 53 per cent of its container exports and 78 per cent of its imports were transported via water.

The report said the surge of container trade is a result of the rapid economic development in west and central China.

Hunan plans to invest CNY7.6 billion (US$1 billion) on seven major projects during the period from 2006 to 2010 to raise its navigational channel capacity and terminal handling capacity. By 2010, the province will have 86 berths with a capacity of more than 1,000 tons.