Construction of the first phase of the Caofeidian coal wharf
kicked off on Friday on the coast of north China's Hebei Province.
Once completed, the project will help satisfy south China'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 percent 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, China will continue to heavily rely on
coal for energy consumption and economic development. Since most
coal is from northern and western China, 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 China. It will help transport
coal from western to eastern China, and eventually from northern to
southern China," 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.
(China Daily August 12, 2006)