Dalian is fast developing its port, airport and border facilities to bring it closer to its goal of becoming an international trade and destination hub.

The central committee of the Communist Party of China, announced in October 2003 a plan to revitalize the old industrial base of Northeast China, largely focusing on its shipping facilities.

In 2006, Dalian drafted its own development strategy, again pointing to the importance of the shipping industry to the region.

The government believed an international shipping center should have dynamic port functions, sound port-vicinity industries and complete shipping services.

Dalian, it said, needed to get a secure footing in the port industry, develop an opening economy, and strive to become the center for international trade, logistics, finance and the information industry.

The strategy was expected to make Dalian an economic centerpiece of Liaoning Province and the entire northeastern region.

In addition, Dalian would upgrade its industrial structure, accelerate the development of the manufacturing sector, high-tech and modern service industries, and attract more foreign investment.

The government aimed to develop Dalian into Northeast Asia's "international city".

Port importance

Dalian's planners have been devoted to port construction in recent years, and prominent achievements were made largely because of the port industry's ability to reposition itself to future economic demands.

For the first time in Dalian Port's history, cargo movement exceeded 100 million tons within the first six months this year, making Dalian the third coastal port in China to do so. A year-on-year growth of 19.5 percent, the climb was twice that of last year.

Meanwhile, container transport turnout reached 1.74 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) in the six months, an increase of 19.1 percent, and foreign trade turnout accounted for 38.5 percent of the total cargo turnout.

In Liaoning Province, Dalian took 52.6 percent and 63.8 percent of shares of the cargo and container transport throughputs.

These achievements were made partly possible by the Dalian government.

The city government has concentrated heavily on port planning in recent years, and has completed an overall master plan of Dalian Port and three other detailed plans.

About 20.5 billion yuan was invested in port construction between 2004 and 2006, funding the construction of another 33 new berths in the port's core area, increasing the port's cargo handling capability by 110 million tons and container handling capability by 1.34 million TEU.

The new berths include those in the second phase of Dayaowan Bonded Harbor Area, a 300,000-tonnage crude oil dock, a 300,000-tonnage ore dock and automobile wharf. All large deepwater berths are considered important to the economic development of Northeast China.

In addition, the city government funded the infrastructure construction in Dalian Port.

Mainly in the core areas like Dayaowan, port infrastructure has cost the government 2.1 billion yuan. At the same time, the government poured 2 billion yuan into the construction of Changxing Island's public port area, railway distribution and transport system, airport, and island communications facilities.

The port's layout, "two areas and one belt", has taken shape.

One area is the port's core zone, which is composed of one island and three bays. It covers 80 sq km of land and 420 sq km of water. Within, there are 149 berths, including 72 specialized deepwater berths for ships above 10,000 tons.

With a handling capacity of 156 million tons, the core area has become Asia's largest logistic center for crops and China's biggest logistic center for oil products and automobile Ro-Ro transportation. It is also home to the main bases of petrochemical, shipbuilding, ship-repairing and manufacturing industries.

With the ability of generating some 60 billion yuan of GDP, the area has become a model region that demonstrates the positive cohesion of port-vicinity industrial clusters.

The other area is Changxing Island port-vicinity industrial zone, part of the Liaoning provincial development strategy. With the first berth already completed and two other berths to be completed in the public port this year, as well as an estimated $2-billion-worth of foreign-invested industrial projects to be launched, the Changxing Island area is expected to strengthen Dalian's already booming industrial cluster.

Since 2004, the ocean-going cargo throughput of Dalian has increased by at least 20 million tons year on year, and the container throughput has grown by 20 percent. In 2006, Dalian's ocean-going cargo throughput exceeded 200 million tons, and the container throughput reached 3.21 million TEU, an increase of 58 percent and nearly 100 percent than that in 2003.

Airport development

Dalian's air transport system is developing fast as well, and its Zhoushuizi International Airport has the potential of becoming the air traffic hub in Northeast China.

The airport's indexes, including passenger and cargo throughput and aircraft movements, all exceeded other airports in the region last year. According to statistics, the airport's passenger throughput reached 6.3 million, cargo throughput 146,000 tons, while 56,000 flights took off and landed at the airport in 2006, increasing by 85 percent, 54 percent and 60 percent respectively.

The airport's performance as a handler of international passenger transport has been commendable.

In the first half of this year, 780,000 out of the total 3.13 million passengers in and out Dalian airport are international travelers.

The airport now ranks the fourth busiest nationwide in international passenger transport, after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, three other major air hubs.

Dalian has 45 international air routes, 23 of which were opened in the past three years. The air traffic network has covered 15 countries, including Russia, Japan, South Korea, Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.

The air traffic between Dalian and Russia, Japan and South Korea is frequent. Each week, up to 137 flights fly to 19 cities in the three countries.

The airport now has a terminal building of 67,000 sq m in size, with 24 aircraft stands, and nine air bridges. A total of 108 air routes links the city with 94 cities at home and abroad.

Border operations

Dalian's border facilities have undergone major improvements in recent years.

The Dalian Shipping Trade Market has created a "one-stop" service and "all-in-one-network", the best of its kind in China.

It has lured talent, logistics, information and capital flows to Dalian. Meanwhile, Dalian has taken a leading position in the country by launching a border calling center and payment platform.

A stretch of measures including simplified customs formalities, a more efficient customs declaration process have helped reduce the time and cost to move goods through official channels.

Satisfaction rate toward customs efficiency has risen from 76 percent to more than 90 percent.

More border areas will be opened in Dalian in the future.

The Dayaowan Free Trade Zone will have preferential customs supervision policies. Changxing Island and Zhuanghe Port have also been included in the country's 2006-10 border development plan.

Starting from this year, government departments at borders were working hard to improve efficiency.

International passengers can pass through customs very quickly.

The foreign trade volume in Dalian has been increasing by 20 percent in recent years.

(China Daily 09/07/2007 page41)