A container liner from Singapore arrives at Humen Port of Dongguan on March 11, 2010. [Photo: Dongguan Daily]
The first international container liner service in Humen Port PS3 has expanded to cover main ports in South and West Africa as of March 10, 2010. Commodities in Dongguan can be directly transported to Southeast Asia, South and West Africa in future, thereby providing saving in logistics cost and trouble for enterprises.
The weekly liner will arrive at 1:00am and depart from the port at 5:00am every Thursday. Compared to exporting from Shenzhen, Humen Port could save 500 to 600 yuan ((USD 73.2 to 87.9)) per 20-foot container.
The rotation of the new liner will be shipping berths 5 and 6 in the Shatian Zone of Humen Port, Huangpu, Nansha, Singapore, Durban in South Africa, Onne of Nigeria, Apapa in Lagos of Nigeria, Lome in Togo, Abidjan in Cote d'Ivoire, Durban, Port Louis in Mauritius, Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as Kaohsiung and Taichung in Taiwan. Pacific International Line, one of the operators of PS3 will deploy a series of 1,500 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Units) vessels for this new weekly service.
China now becomes the third largest trading partner of Africa after the US and France. In 2009, the value of exports from Dongguan to Africa reached more than US$300 million. The container accumulation amounted to about 20,000 and is still increasing. Therefore, the liner connecting Dongguan with the main ports in South Africa and West Africa will contribute more to trade between Dongguan and Africa.
According to PSA Dongguan Container Terminal (PSA DGCT), every container in and out of Humen Port before May 31 will be subsidized 20 to 50 yuan in order to attract more cargo. The Humen Management Committee also revealed that shipping lines will be opened to connect Dongguan with Taiwan in the near future.
(By Tan Jing)
