Liaoning invests in ports

The government of northeast Liaoning province announced plans to spend RMB72bn (US$8.7bn) to build coastal ports over the next five years, raising total annual cargo handling capacity to 579bn tons by 2010. Officials said the expansion would fuel the local economy and revive China's old northeast industrial base. Plans call for building deep-water berths for handling oil, ore and containers, and upgrading multi-purpose berths for coal, grain, chemicals, rolled steel and automobiles.