Singapore port goes overseas

Singapore port goes overseas

SINGAPORE (AFP): The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), looking for sources of growth beyond the tiny island, launched yesterday its first international port venture in Dalian, China.

Singapore Communications Minister Mah Bow Tan, who officiated at the opening, called the Dalian Container Terminal "another milestone" in relations between China and Singapore.

"It coincides with the efforts of both our countries to move closer in economic cooperation," Mah said in a speech whose text was released here.

The minister said the joint venture faced the challenge of building Dalian into an efficient port and later, with the development of a larger cargo base, into a major hub port.

The Dalian Container Terminal Co. Ltd. was formed in a partnership between a PSA majority-owned subsidiary and the investment arm of the Port of Dalian Authority.

The terminal goes into operation with three berths and about 530 employees. Two more berths are being developed for the facility to accommodate two mother vessels and four feeder ships simultaneously.

Total investment in the project is estimated at more than 480 million US dollars.

At present northern China's cargo is largely transshipped at ports such as Hong Kong, Kobe and Yokohama, and there is a need to develop a port to serve as a shipping hub in the region, Mah said.

"Dalian can play this role to the benefit of Dalian's as well as North China's economy," he added.

The venture is PSA's first major international port investment although it has considerable experience in port consultancy and development through associates.

The authority is trying to transform itself into an international port company to support shipping lines over a larger geographical area and take advantage of port development opportunities elsewhere.

Singapore is the busiest port in the world in terms of shipping tonnage and the second busiest for container traffic after Hong Kong.