Ambitious Yangtze blueprint

It appears that things may be moving more quickly than previously anticipated – the announcement made by the provincial government last year, as reported at the time in Port Strategy, detailed a ten year development plan for Wuhan New Port.

The development will include major dredging projects which will allow 5,000dwt vessels to sail upstream of the Wuhan Yangtze Bridge and 10,000dwt downstream. At present, only 2 to 3,000dwt loaded vessels can sail upstream all year round and 3 to 5,000dwt downstream.

David Lammie, director of Yangtze Business Services Ltd, said to PS: “Wuhan government wants to strengthen the city’s credentials as the major transport hub on the middle reaches of the Yangtze and the new timescales are designed to accelerate that process. The plan to establish regular container railway services to Yangluo is particularly important as it would help establish Wuhan as an important transhipment centre.”

Wuhan is indeed strategically placed – it is within a 400km radius of 45 cities in six provinces. It is now just in need of better rail connections. Mr Lammie says that the port authority is in discussion with China Railway Container Transport Co about linking Yangluo container terminal to rail container services so that containers from as far as Zhengzhou, Xian, Chongqing and Chengdu can be transported using the Yangluo-Yangshan Yangtze shuttle services.

The government is providing subsidies to the shuttle service providers to make them more reliable for shippers.