by Lloyd's List

23 September 2024 (Lloyd's List) - NINGBO-Zhoushan Port will invest Yuan6.5bn ($922m) to construct a new container terminal with a designed annual handling capacity of 2m teu.

The project is located on the northwest side of Fudao Island in Zhoushan city. Currently, the port complex's box handling capacity is mainly concentrated on the Ningbo size.

The facility will have a 950 m long shoreline. Its two berths can accommodate 24,000 teu ultra-large containerships, and its hydraulic structures are designed for 32,000 teu vessels in anticipation of future ship types, said the port operator in a statement.

"This project will help enhance the strategic supply of container handling capacity at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, building it into an internationally competitive hub port.

“It will also enable Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to adapt to the trend of larger vessels, improve port service capabilities, and increase customer appeal."

Construction is scheduled to commence in October 2025, with completion and commissioning set for December 2027. The terminal is expected to reach full capacity by December 2030.

Including the construction period, the investment payback period is estimated at around 19.2 years.

Ningbo-Zhoushan is the world's third largest container port after Shanghai and Singapore. Its throughput reached 35.3m teu in 2023, up 5.8% from 2022.

In the first half of this year, its container throughput totalled 19.2m teu, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year.