Use of sea area has been approved for two new deep-water berths between the southern and northern harbor basins of the Gaolan Port Nanshui Operation Zone.

The 100,000-dwt container berths are to be built by Zhuhai Port Holdings Group at a cost of 2.6 billion yuan (388 million) to meet surging cargo throughput. The Phase III sea usage was reviewed by experts of the Zhuhai Natural Resources Bureau.

They examined the sea area through site investigation and reference to technical documents. The experts questioned the design scheme, construction plan, and augment report, and received detailed answers.

Expert review of sea area use [Photo courtesy WeChat account: zhportholdings]

After discussion, all agreed that the planned augmentations of sea area use comply with laws, regulations, polices, and technical standards. The conclusions of the report are called objective, reasonable, and credible.

Construction of the 858.5-m (939-yd) Terminal will take 30 months. The hydraulic structure will allow the new berths to accommodate fully loaded 150,000-dwt container ships. Upon completion, it will be capable of handling 1.6 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually.

Zhuhai Port ranks 77th among the World's Top 100 Container Ports in 2020, according to Lloyd's List. It recorded container throughput of 2.56 million TEUs in 2019, up 10.65 percent year-on-year.

Construction of Gaolan Port Container Terminal Phase II commenced in 2011 and is mostly completed. Costing 4 billion yuan ($584 million), one 100,000-dwt and two 50,000-dwt new container berths are in trial operation as the deep-water shoreline has been lengthened to 4,000 m (4,374 yd).