BEIJING: PSA International has inked a joint venture deal to operate a new container terminal in China’s southern Guangxi province.
The port operator announced in a statement yesterday that it will partner Beibu Gulf Port Group (BPG) and Singapore shipping company Pacific International Lines (PIL) to operate the terminal in Qinzhou City.
The terminal – expected to commence operations in the last quarter of this year – will support the container trade growth in the region and serve the vast hinterlands of Guangxi, Sichuan, Chongqing and Hunan, said PSA.
It will also connect the region to key shipping routes linking China to ASEAN countries, East Africa and the Mediterranean.
The joint venture will operate and manage a total quay length of 1,533 m, with a capacity of three million standard sized containers a year.
The deal marks PSA’s first foray into the nation’s fast-growing south-west, earmarked by the Chinese government as a key area for coastal development and collaboration with ASEAN countries.
BPG chairman Zhou Xiao Xi said that the collaboration, tapping on the mutual expertise of all three parties, will help to “spur economic growth in the region”.
PSA group chief executive Tan Chong Meng said: “Guangxi-Beibu Gulf’s strategic location, established transport infrastructure and extensive hinterland offer tremendous potential for our terminal to support the remarkable growth in China’s south-western region.
“I am confident that with the complementary strengths of the three shareholders and the unwavering support from the Guangxi government, we will be able to transform our joint venture terminal into a port of choice for the shipping lines.”
