PSA, GUANGZHOU HARBOR BUREAU FORM BOX TERMINAL JOINT VENTURE

PSA, GUANGZHOU HARBOR BUREAU FORM BOX TERMINAL JOINT VENTURE    PSA Corp. the Singapore-based port group, has signed an agreement with Guangzhou Harbor Bureau to form a joint venture company in Guangzhou for the operation of a container terminal.
   Under the agreement, the joint venture company, Guangzhou Container Terminal Co. Ltd., will manage and operate three container berths in the port. Guangzhou Harbour Bureau will hold 51 percent of the company and PSA 49 percent.
   PSA said that the joint venture would “facilitate the development of the port of Guangzhou into an advanced and efficient container gateway port to handle the fast growing container traffic from both Guangzhou and the South China region.”
   Guangzhou, located north of the Pearl River Delta, is the largest and most prosperous city in southern China. The city has a population of 6.7 million people. Its port is China’s fifth busiest container port, with a total throughput of 1.43 million TEUs in 2000.
   Huang Guo Sheng, director-general, Guangzhou Harbor Bureau, said that the project is timely, as South China’s economic and industrial sectors are currently enjoying rapid growth.
   “The volume of cargo and containers generated at Guangzhou’s hinterland is large and growing rapidly,” he said.
   For PSA, the Guangzhou venture is one of several major container terminal developments in China. PSA also runs container terminals in Dalian and Fuzhou.
   PSA’s container terminal in South China is expected to compete against the neighboring Yantian container terminal operated by the Hong Kong-based Hutchison port group and Maersk Sealand.