Cargo throughput at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port reaches 1b tons

With the loading of a container onto the "Mary Maersk" ship on Dec 27, the cargo throughput at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port reaches 1 billion tons in 2017. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in East China's Zhejiang province has become the world's first to have a year's cargo throughput of 1 billion in a single year.

The momentous landmark came with the loading of a container onto the "Mary Maersk" ship on Dec 27. This also means the port has been ranked the world's busiest for nine years in a row.

"This is a milestone for the development of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, as well as a new achievement in Zhejiang's integration of Ningbo and Zhoushan ports," said Mao Jianhong, chairman of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group Co.

Zhejiang Provincial Seaport Investment and Operation Group Co was established in August of 2015 and later, Ningbo Port Co and Zhoushan Port Co were merged as Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group Co in a bid to boost the integration of port resources and to develop the maritime economy. Five main ports－Ningbo, Zhoushan, Jiaxing, Taizhou and Wenzhou－are now under the unified investment and operation group.

Since the founding of the group, Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has stuck to five development concepts – innovation, coordination, green development, opening-up and sharing. It is an active participant to the provincial and national strategies and has started a new scheme for the development of the ports in Zhejiang.

Workers and government officials witness the historic moment when this year's cargo throughput at Ningbo-Zhoushan port reaches 1 billion tons on Dec 27. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]