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Taicang offers new services as alternate port |
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Written by Ralf Mostert
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
Taicang International Gateway in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, expects throughput to double this year to two million TEUs with the provision of new international services.
And by 2011, the port expects to handle over five million TEUs by providing alternative services to complement the development of Shanghai port.
Fred Castonguay, managing director of Taicang International Gateway, said: "We expect to see a significant growth in our international service offerings."
He said the US economic slowdown would not have a significant impact on the growth of throughput at Taicang. "We don't feel that the current situation of the US is going to have a tremendous impact on the projections going forward," he said, adding that the growth of the port is linked to the choices of services it provide to customers.
"Even if throughput stays flat this year in Shanghai, I still think that we can achieve two million TEUs," Castonguay said.
The port will launch six to eight new services this year. A new Taiwanese service will be launched in January or February and by the end of the first quarter there will be additional services to Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.
The port will also continue to operate Japan, Korea, South America, South Africa, Australasia, New Zealand, and potentially US Gulf Coast services.
Expansion work is underway to cater to the rise in throughput. "There will be 24 container berths available within the next five to seven years, on an on-going basis," said Castonguay. An additional four berths will come on line in early 2009, followed by another four in late 2010 and an additional four in early 2012. The capacity of the port can go up to 15 million TEUs.
Taicang port is experiencing strong growth, but Castonguay said the port is not competing with Shanghai port because the latter has 10 to 15 years head start.
"We're offering an alternative. People like choices and want to see how they can take advantage of some of the services our port is offering versus those of more traditional players," he said.
Castonguay said Taicang port complements the development of Shanghai port. "Suzhou has traditionally been the main cargo generation area for the greater Yangtze River Delta area and ports serving the market augment the capacity of the traditional Shanghai ports," he said.
Castonguay said the surface infrastructure of the area through to Shanghai is beginning to feel the strain of growth that translates into increased delays and higher costs to move the cargo from Suzhou to the Shanghai ports, and Taicang port provides an attractive alternative.
"Taicang port helps kick trucks off the highway from Suzhou to Shanghai. So if you're trying to send the containers to Yangshan port, instead of paying more to truck it there, and have a potential delay, you can move the containers directly from Taicang port," he said.
Castonguay said China now has about five to six major port centres and needs to expand. "The capacity in the traditional port centre won't be able to bear the demand of the next 10 years. There needs to be another offering of secondary ports," he said.
Castonguay said Taicang port is also geared to provide upstream Yangtze River transhipment services. Twenty-three per cent of the throughput of the port is transhipment, and it accounts for 98 percent of the transhipment of the Yangtze River.
Castonguay said the long-term goal of Taicang port is to develop into a true gateway for Jiangsu Province and the Shanghai area.
Source: Cargonews Asia
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