“Green” ports in China

China is pushing to develop smart ports to boost its export-oriented economy and protect the environment.

Rizhao Port in Shandong Province. Photo: XINHUA

At Tianjin Port in the northern Chinese city of the same name, automated container cranes and unmanned vehicles are busy loading and unloading cargo. The application of a range of technologies including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous driving and cloud computing has helped transform Tianjin Port into the world's first carbon-neutral smart port. The Tianjin Smart Container Terminal has an investment of about 731 million USD.

Mr. Yang Jiemin, Vice President of Tianjin Port Group, said that the cost of building a smart port is equivalent to that of building a traditional port, but it is more efficient. Accordingly, a smart port helps increase the operating efficiency of a single crane by more than 40% and reduce labor costs by up to 60%. According to Mr. Chu Bin, Chairman of Tianjin Port Group, the enterprise aims to become a "green" and smart port to help improve the competitiveness of the Beijing - Tianjin - Hebei city cluster. To help Chinese cities increase trade connectivity, Tianjin Port has deployed intermodal transport services (rail-sea). The shipping routes can access more than 500 ports in more than 180 countries and regions.

Over the past decade, container throughput at Tianjin Port has increased from 13 million TEUs (a measure of cargo capacity) to 22 million TEUs, making it one of the world’s 10 busiest container ports. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province, the world’s busiest port by throughput, is also riding the wave of smart port construction. The Meishan Port Area Phase 2 project has increased container handling capacity at the port’s Meidong Container Terminal to 10 million TEUs.

By the end of 2023, the port will operate more than 250 international container shipping routes. The construction of a smart container terminal has also made Rizhao Port in Shandong Province, East China, the world's youngest port with an annual throughput of more than 500 million tons. Rizhao Port, which began operations in 1986, has a smart port specializing in dry cargo handling and a fully automated container terminal.

China has eight of the world's 10 busiest ports by cargo throughput and seven of the world's top 10 by container throughput, according to the Ministry of Transport . There are currently 18 automated container terminals in the country, with another 27 under construction or renovation, said Zheng Qingxiu, an official with the Ministry of Transport. Liu Zhanshan, vice president of the China Water Transport Research Institute, said the construction of smart ports will help ensure the stability of the global supply chain and promote the country's high-level opening up.

China's merchandise trade has topped the world for seven consecutive years. Ports are a key enabler of economic growth and connect a large number of exporters to multiple markets, playing a vital role in China's economic vitality and resilience.

MINH CHAU

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cac-ben-cang-xanh-o-trung-quoc-post742180.html