The Shanghai Municipal city is expected to develop into the world's largest shipbuilding base by 2015, following the launch of its shipyard expansion project.

In August of this year, the Shanghai municipal government decided to allot space along the eight-kilometre shoreline of Changxing Island to build a huge shipyard.

"Some shipyards along the Huangpu River will be moved there,'' said Zhang Shengkun, vice-president of the Shanghai Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SSNAME).

The shipyard project will make the city reach the capacity of building 12 million dead weight tons (DWT) worth of ships, Zhang said on Friday.

He was speaking at a press conference to promote the Marintec China 2003 Conference and Exhibition, which will be held at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre from December 2 to 5.

Sponsored by SSNAME and CMP Asia Ltd, the exhibition will have participants from 28 countries and regions, said Michael Duck, senior vice-president of CMP Asia Ltd.

An important part of the Marintec China event is the Senior Maritime Forum, with "the Challenge and Strategy of the Global Maritime Industry in the New Century'' as its theme, Duck said.

The event has been dubbed a "Chinese Shipbuilding Festival'' by maritime industry insiders at home and abroad. It is expected to provide "a strong momentum to China's shipbuilding industry.''

Shanghai has been recognized as an important base for the world's shipbuilding industry, because four of the five key shipbuilding and ship-repairing bases under the China State Shipbuilding Corporation are based in the city.

It now has the capacity of building 3 million DWT ships, followed by neighbouring Jiangsu Province at 1.25 million DWT.

Local insiders said the shipbuilding industry is part of the city's ambition to develop into one of the world's premier shipping centres.

According to statistics from the Shanghai Port Authority, the city handled 5.2 million 20-foot containers between January and June, up 35.6 per cent over the same period last year.

The figure is expected to exceed 10 million by the end of this year, becoming the third-highest volume in the world.

If the Yangshan Deep Water Port, which is under construction, operates in 2020 to handle 13 million 20-foot containers annually, the city's annual handling capacity will reach 25.4 million 20-foot containers, Zhang said.

The central government has taken measures over the past two years to promote its shipbuilding industry with the aim to become the world's top shipbuilding power,'' he said.

The China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, whose shipbuilding bases are mainly located in Liaoning and Shandong provinces, has also put forward a strategic plan to expand its shipbuilding industry.

If the shipbuilding capacity of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces is put together, China is expected to have the capacity of building 25 million DWT ships in 2015 that will account for 30 to 40 per cent of the world's shipbuilding output, Zhang said.

(China Daily September 6, 2003)