Shipyard to break records

Construction began last week on China State Shipbuilding Corp's US$3.6bn Jiangnan Shipyard project in Changxing Island, poised to become the world's largest shipyard as China aims to become the world's leading shipbuilder by 2015. In the first phase of the project, Jiangnan is relocating from central Shanghai to Changxing where it will expand its shipbuilding capacity from the current annual 800,000 deadweight tons (DWT) to 4.5m by 2010, with an eye to delivering its first ship at the new site by 2009.