Construction of the Xinhui Port Tianma Operation Area officially started in the 1990s. The first phase wharf which has gone into operation, boasts two 5,000-ton berths and one 500-ton berth. It has a total shoreline of 260 meters and designed throughput of 860,000 tons a year.
As the local economy continues to grow, existing berths at the wharf can no longer meet the needs of economic development. In 2002, former Xinhui Port Co., Ltd. started to prepare for construction of the second phase (“Phase II”). After Xinhui Port Co., Ltd. was restructured in 2003, our subsidiary Guangdong Xinhui Port International Freight Terminal Co., Ltd. took over the project. Project approval and related work was completed between 2004 and 2005. The land area behind the wharf was backfilled in 2005. Between 2006 and 2007, we completed design and bidding for the main works, which was constructed in late Aug. 2007 and accepted in Sept. 2014 upon final inspection.
Now Phase II has been expanded to include two 10,000-ton multi-purpose berths (the wharf structure is designed and constructed according to the 30,000-ton berth standard). It is of typical high-piled beam-slab structure and its standard section is 355 meters long. For the bottom elevation of waters in the front, it has now been dredged to -10.1 meters according to the 10,000-ton standard and will, in the long run, be dredged to -14.1 meters according to the 30,000-ton standard. The annual throughput of the project is designed at 910,000 tons, including 90,000 TEUs and 100,000-ton bulk cargoes.
For cargo handling, Phase II was equipped with three new multi-purpose rail-type gantry cranes in 2014. One of the cranes has a max. lifting capacity of 50 tons and a max. outreach of 36 meters; the other two boasts a max. lifting capacity of 40 tons each and a max. outreach of 36 meters. All the equipment has been properly installed. We plan to construct three rail tracks (track width: 45 meters) in the rear container yard in 2015. Double-cantilever rail mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) will be installed soon and another six will be added in the long run. With a max. lifting load of 45 tons and gauge of 45 meters, RMGs will become the main hoisting equipment in the container yard. Other equipment includes two empty container stackers (up to 7 layers), ten in-port container trailers and 20 forklifts of 3 to 25 tons.
As for communication control and computer management, it is planned that the RFID system be adopted for the newly-built gate to pave the way for paperless customs declaration and “one-ticket for all” operation. The gate is designed with a total of six lanes, i.e. three entrances, two exists and an ultra-wide lane. Each lane is installed with a truck scale (or weighbridge) for collecting weight data on passing vehicles and cargoes. The closed-circuit television system (“CCTV System”) has been installed across the port, and a control center has been set up in the new office building, which can ensure seamless connection of monitoring systems between the dredging and customs/border defense teams.
Mingcrown Logistics Park, an auxiliary project of Xinhui Port, plans to build 11 logistics storage warehouses and one six-storey office building, with a gross floor area of 167,976 m2 or so. Four storage warehouses will be constructed as part of the first phase by March 2015. After it goes into operation, Mingcrown Logistics Park will achieve connection and switch-over between water and road transportation. By integrating such functions as comprehensive transportation, storage, cargo stowage, handling, information processing, inspection & quarantine, business consulting and investment attraction, it can create advantages in distributing indoors diversified goods in multiple batches and to multiple users. Moreover, it will offer stable, reliable, and high-quality port logistics service to local import/export enterprises.
Considering current progress on the construction of the wharf and the land area behind it, Phase II is expected to go into operation during the latter half of 2015. The operation of Xinhui Port will drive rapid development of the logistics transportation industry in Jiangmen as well as economic growth in South China and the whole PRD region. It will grow into the distribution center of branch-line containers and international transfer containers in South China and, particularly, in Jiangmen. By re-opening coastal container voyages and near-sea international liner routes for river-ocean combined transportation, Xinhui Port will rise to be the hub of river-ocean combined transportation in the Xijiang River basin and contributing to the sustainable growth of the local economy.
Xinhui Port, a national first-class port and the center of public attention, is poised to take off.
