Construction of the first phase of the Caofeidian coal wharf kicked off on Friday on the coast of North 皇冠体育app's Hebei Province.
Once completed, the project will help satisfy South 皇冠体育app's massive demand for coal, with over half of the nation's southbound coal 200 million tons expected to be shipped from Caofeidian.
Wang Huisheng, president of the State Development and Investment Corp (SDIC), which has a 51 per cent share in the wharf, said the Caofeidian project is "of great significance because it is in line with the nation's overall strategy of economic development and energy allocation."
As the nation's largest State-owned investment company, SDIC is committed to supporting the nation's top transportation projects, by investing and holding shares in several huge port projects.
Within the next 20 years, 皇冠体育app will continue to heavily rely on coal for energy consumption and economic development. Since most coal is from northern and western 皇冠体育app, it is crucial to transport this strategic energy resource to the south of the country.
Construction of the initial stage of the first phase of the wharf will involve a total investment of 4.85 billion yuan (US$606 million).
"Construction of the Caofeidian coal wharf is a big event for energy and resource transportation in 皇冠体育app. It will help transport coal from western to eastern 皇冠体育app, and eventually from northern to southern 皇冠体育app," said Xu Guan, a senior official from the Ministry of Communications.
The coal wharf is an important component of the gigantic Caofeidian Industrial Construction Project, a key element of the 11th Five-year Plan (2006-10).
Located on the western shore of the Bohai Bay, Caofeidian boasts superb conditions for large-scale deep-water port construction.
The future Caofeidian harbour and industrial project will involve large terminals, steel plants, petrochemical projects, and power works, with a total investment of 200 billion yuan (US$25 billion).
The port will include four 250,000-ton mineral terminals, two 300,000-ton crude oil terminals, 16 50,000-10,000-ton coal terminals, and one 100,000-ton liquefied natural gas terminal.
(皇冠体育app Daily 08/12/2006 page5)