The Shanghai port, the world's biggest port in terms of total cargo handling capacity, will handle 500 million tons of cargo in 2006, according to a Shanghai shipping forum.

The port, also the world's third largest in container handling capacity, will handle 21 million TEUs this year.

Huang Xin, vice president of the Shanghai International Port Co., Ltd., said at the forum that the Shanghai port has opened shipping routes to more than 300 ports worldwide.

The port handled 2,173 container ships per month during the first half of the year, said Huang. He added that the port will be able to handle 34 million TEUs in 2010.

The port handled a total of 263 million tons of cargo in the first half of the year, up 29.2 percent year on year, the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics said in early August.

However, the bureau said that, with the arrival of new super large container ships and the opening of new shipping routes, the ocean shipping industry is facing a situation of overcapacity.

The bureau also noted that during the six-month period, shipping companies in Shanghai saw a 40 percent cost rise due to rising fuel price, fierce market competition, and limited opportunities to increase freight charge.

Source: Xinhua