A port of promise

Port authorities said there is growing demand for steel products for auto parts in South China. The plant is also expected to produce steel for shipbuilding, a sector that is rapidly growing in China.

Zhanjiang Port not only supplies iron ore to steel mills operating in Southwest China but it also provides raw materials to steel plants along the railway line between Zhanjiang and Henan province.

The port also connects large marine vessels with smaller ships transporting materials to other regions in China.

The company noted that in May this year, the dock distributed 1 million tons of coal and iron ore to other regions.

Although iron ore is the main focus of the terminal, Zhanjiang Port also handles other commodities such as crude oil and coal. Last year, the port handled 28 million tons of petrochemical goods and 10 million tons of coal.

"Zhanjiang Port is one of the main distribution centers for energy resources and raw materials in the south of China," said Kang.

Zhanjiang Port is already one of China's 25 pivotal seaports and a major trade port in the country.

In the first five months of the year, the port reported a total throughput of 98.4 million tons, representing a 7.5-percent growth compared to a year earlier. The rate is significantly higher than the national average growth of 1 percent posted by Chinese industrial ports during that period.

In the January-May period, the port ranked 12th in the country in throughput, climbing two spots from the previous year.

Port authorities expect the port to expand its capacity to achieve an annual throughput of 300 million tons by 2017, which would rank it 10th among ports in China.

Additionally, Zhanjiang is expected to place increasing emphasis on the container business amid great growth potential. The port recorded 560,000 containers last year and it expects to handle 700,000 this year.

"We are planning the construction of an additional two berths by the end of the year as the current existing ones will not meet the growing demand in two years," explained Kang.

In 2014, total container throughput at Zhanjiang Port rose 52 percent, ranking first among Beibu Gulf ports.

Zhanjiang Port is also working on the construction of a bonded logistics center with a designed annual capacity of 4.75 million tons. The company said construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The bonded area will help lower logistics cost for foreign trade enterprises.