Tianjin port is to spend Yn1.5bn in 2002 on increasing its capacity, reported Xinhua. Work this year will include the second-phase construction of a navigational channel for large vessels with a capacity of up to 100,000 tons, the building of two docks for bulk goods and the conversion of a former coal terminal into a dock for containers. Other facilities to be built include a goods distribution centre and a conveyor-belt corridor.
In 2001, the port handled 114m tons of cargo, an increase of 19 per cent on the previous year, and its container throughput breached the 2m teu mark for the first time.