The No 3 berth in Houshi port area, the largest bulk and general-cargo terminal at Xiamen Port, Fujian province is expected to come into service later this year, Xiamen Daily reported on Aug 13.

According to the Xiamen Port Authority, the Houshi port area has served as the main venue for bulk and general-cargo business, after its inclusion into Xiamen Port in 2006 along with Zhaoyin and Shima port areas. The No 3 berth is the first terminal founded by China Merchants Holdings and Xiamen Port Holdings.

The 150,000-DWT berth is situated at the Zhangzhou Investment Promotion Bureau Economic and Technological Development Zone, 3.5 sea miles from Xiamen. It is designed to have annual handling capacity of 4.35 million tons.

The construction of its main structure, the debugging of portal cranes and the installing of high and low pressure equipment has been completed, with a few finishing touches needed to other supporting facilities.

According to the local authorities, after its completion, the No 3 birth will be mainly engaged in delivering grain, timber, and minerals.

The berth is expected to drive the development and exploitation of the deep-water shoreline of Houshi port area.

The port area is planned to form a 7,000-meter coastline of 19 berths with total throughput capacity exceeding 100 million tons.

According to the subsequent plan for Houshi port area, several 300,000-DWT bulk and general-cargo berths are set to be established to improve handling capacity to a world-class level and to contribute to the city's international shipping center construction.

The shipping logistics industry has always been a mainstay and important driver for Xiamen’s economic development, and so the No 3 berth will satisfy the industrial development needs of Xiamen port's hinterland and drive regional economic development.