The Port of Haikou, on the shipping route connecting the Beibu Gulf with the South China Sea, on Thursday began an expansion which will enable it to handle visits from international passenger liners.

The infrastructure of Haikou Port lacks deep-water docks and large-capacity container terminals.

At a cost of 780 million yuan (about 97.5 million U.S. dollars), the expansion will give the port two new 30,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) container berths plus support facilities, said a spokesman with Hainan Port and Shipping Share (Holdings) Co. Ltd., the project developer.

Two protective embankments will be built this year and land will be reclaimed from the sea.

The berths are expected to start operation in 2008. Each berth will be able to handle 450,000 TEUs and 100,000 passengers annually, said the spokesman.

Haikou, the capital of Hainan Province, lies on the southern edge of the Qiongzhou Straits separating Hainan Island from the Chinese mainland. The port expansion will be of great significance to the island economy.

Source: Xinhua