Yangshan

The Yangshan deep-water port is a new port in Hangzhou Bay south of Shanghai, at . Built to circumvent growth limitations for the Port of Shanghai as a result of shallow waters, it allows berths with depths of up to 15 metres to be built, and is capable of handling the largest container ships today. The port achieves this by building on the offshore islands of Greater and Lesser Yangshan , which have been amalgamated by land reclamation and connected to the mainland via the Donghai Bridge, the latter of which was opened on 1 December 2005 as the third-longest bridge in the world at 32.5 km in length.

Berths

In 2000/2001, the decision was made to commence construction on the first of four phases. The first two phases are currently operational, with nine berths in total along a 3 km quayside. The first phase, which commenced operations in 2004, can accommodate 2.2 million containers annually and includes 10 quay cranes. The second phase was opened in December 2006, and comprises 72 hectares with 15 quay cranes.

The third phase, to be opened in stages, will be completed by 2010 with seven berths, with phase 3A scheduled to be opened by the end of 2007. When fully completed in 2012, the port will have four phases in operation with 30 berths capable of handling 15 million s annually.

Cost

The total cost of Yangshan port may reach US$ 12 billion over 20 years