Work begins on Shanghai super-port

A consortium of 10 domestic banks is to extend a Yn17bn credit line for the building of the Yangshan deepwater port near Shanghai. With financing in place, construction of the project was due begin at the end of July.

The first phase alone, expected to be completed in 2005, will cost Yn14.31bn. It will involve the construction of a 13km bridge, a 1.7sq km man-made island and a coastal township, together with a 1.6km navigation channel capable of accommodating superlarge container ships. The 33-berth port on Xiao-yangshan Island in Hangzhou Bay, situated 27km from Shanghai, is due to be completed by 2020. It will be the largest port ever built on the Chinese mainland, according to the Ministry of Communications.