COSCO Pacific reports 51% jump in Chinese box volumes

COSCO Pacific reports 51% jump in Chinese box volumes    COSCO Pacific, a stock market-listed subsidiary of the China Ocean Shipping Co. group, reported that the eight mainland Chinese terminals in which it has an ownership interest increased their combined volume 51 percent last year to 15.2 million TEUs.
   Terminals in which the group held interests located in the regions of the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Rim saw the “most spectacular” growth rates in container volumes, COSCO Pacific said.
   Box volumes at Shekou Terminals soared 49.8 percent in 2003 to 1.3 million TEUs.
   Yantian International Terminals’ phases I, II and III facilities increased their throughput 25.7 percent last year to 5.3 million TEUs.
   Shanghai Terminals saw its traffic rise 11.5 percent in 2003 to 3.4 million TEUs, and Shanghai Pudong International Terminals, opened last year, had a first-year throughput of 1.8 million TEUs.
   Dalian Port Container Co. Ltd. increased its traffic 24 percent to 1.6 million TEUs.
   The higher volume figures of COSCO Pacific’s Chinese ports will rank the operator among the world’s largest container terminal operators.
   “Leveraging on its competitive advantages of being present in the PRC market, the group fostered the development of its container terminal projects in China mainland and became one of the front-runners in terminal operation within Asia,” COSCO Pacific said in a statement. The company holds interests in container terminals on the coastal ports of mainland China, in Hong Kong, and in one terminal in Singapore.
   In July 2003 the company acquired a 20-percent stake in Qingdao Qianwan Terminal (phase II).
   In November COSCO-PSA Terminal officially opened for business.
   COSCO Pacific, which also provides container leasing and logistics services, said it is “determined to give full play to the notion of ‘going global’,” and would seek international business development opportunities.