Four shipping companies awarded US$850,000

China - COSCO and Maersk are two of the four shipping firms to receive a combined RMB5.5 million (approximately US$850,000) from Guangzhou Municipality to encourage the continuous development of Nansha port. The monetary award is expected to help cushion the impact of the financial crisis on the liners.

COSCO Container Lines and China Shipping Container Lines were each awarded approximately US$290,000, while Maersk Line and the Mediterranean Shipping Company were awarded US$146,500 and US$73,250 respectively.

The China shipping industry has not been spared an unprecedented amount of challenges with the financial crisis.

To help the four firms ease their financial situation, the Guangzhou Municipality awarded the assistance funds to them based on their performance related to the operation of lines and their handling capacity of containers, aimed at continuing the development of Nansha Port, the Guangzhou Municipality said.

Such practices are viewed as long-term stimulus packages.

According to a report, Opinions on Speeding up Development of Guangzhou Port released by the Guangzhou Municipality, efforts will be made to turn the Guangzhou Port into a hub with more comprehensive functions.

Guangzhou has formulated 10 new moves for port construction, navigation services and improvements to waterways, aimed at improving efficiency and cutting down the costs related to shipping.

22 deep-water berths for transporting containers, coal, foodstuffs and petrochemicals will be built by 2015, with a total handling capacity of cargo exceeding 500 million tons and the ability to handle containers exceeding 20 million TEUs, said Chang Ming, director of the Guangzhou Port Authority.

Currently, waterways at the port are 15 metres deep and can only accommodate ten-tonnage ships at times of low tide. The improvements are expected to be complete by 2011 during which the waterways will be 17 metres deep can accommodate ten-tonnage ships into the port at any time.