18/5/07

The Port of Shanghai overtook Hong Kong to become the world's second-largest container port in the first quarter as throughput rose 28.1 percent from the same period a year ago, according to Chinese media reports cited Friday by Agence France Presse.

In the first three months of the year, Shanghai processed 5.9 million TEUs, China Daily reported, citing figures from the Shanghai Port Administration Bureau.

During the same period, Hong Kong handled about 5.5 million TEUs, up 2.3 percent on-year. Singapore remained the world's largest port, as traffic increased 14 percent to 6.6 million TEUs.

The quarter marks the first time that Shanghai has topped Hong Kong in terms of container throughput, the paper added.

Shanghai since the end of 2003 has been the third-busiest container port after Singapore and Hong Kong.

By the end of 2006, with the opening of the second phase of its new container terminals at Yangshan, Shanghai's throughput reached 20 million TEUs, compared to 18.1 million TEUs in 2005.

Statistics show that the Shenzhen in the Pearl River Delta near Hong Kong handled 4.5 million TEUs in the first quarter, making it the fourth largest hub in the world, following Hong Kong.