The merging of Nanhui District with Pudong New Area will help accelerate Shanghai’s development in shipping, business and manufacturing.
The Yangshan Deep-water Port, seen here) and the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone will both come under one government entity.
It has been proposed to build a metro line to connect Waigaoqiao and Lingang New City.
The free trade zone in Waigaoqiao (seen below) is almost filled so the city government needs to speed up the development of Lingang New City.
The transport of cargo through inland waterways instead of highways will also be facilitated now that the two districts are merged.
The research and development center for the project will be located at Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Pudong New Area.
Construction started on the port in 2002 and the major section was completed at the end of last year. The 16 berths have a handling capacity of 9.3 million 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs).
When completed by 2020, the 30 berths should be able to handle 15 million TEUs.
Established in 2003, the complex industrial zone of Lingang incorporates manufacturing, logistics, export processing, research and development and residential areas. By the end of last year 119 projects were based here and 52 foreign enterprises invested in the area.
Cargo News Asia reports that shipments, according to the Ministry of Transport, rose this year although container throughput declined but at a more steady rate.