Chinese, U.S. companies set up Tianjin container terminal venture

Chinese, U.S. companies set up Tianjin container terminal venture    COSCO Pacific Ltd., China Shipping Terminal Development Co., Ltd., China Merchants International Terminals (Tianjin) Ltd., Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd., and U.S.-based CSX World Terminals have formed a joint venture to develop and operate a container terminal in the port of Tianjin in North China.
   The venture is called Tianjin Five Continents International Container Terminal Co., Ltd. It will invest in, manage and operate a container terminal in Dongtudi in Tianjin
   The Dongtudi terminal will have an annual handling capacity of 1.5 million TEUs, with four berths and a quay length of 1,202 meters, a water depth alongside of up to 15.7 meters and a total area of about 550,000 square meters.
   COSCO Pacific, an affiliate of the China Ocean Shipping Co. group, said it will invest about $19 million in the venture, in which it will have a 14-percent interest.
   The port of Tianjin, also known as Xingang, has experienced an annual growth rate in container throughput of 20 percent since 1990.