The 1.16-billion-yuan ($161 million) bulk cargo terminal project at Gaolan Port invested by China Energy Zhuhai Port started construction on Sept 27. Once operational, it will strengthen the regional energy storage and transportation system and satisfy the transportation demands of bulk cargo like coal and iron ore for power plants under construction and steel projects in the Chinese mainland.

It will add a 100,000-metric-ton unloading berth and two 5,000-ton loading berths to the current national emergency coal reserve base, with an annual handling capacity of 1.75 million tons.

Phase I of Gaolan Port bulk cargo terminal project [Photo by Zhang Zhou / Zhuhai Daily]

Upon operation, China Energy Zhuhai Port will run 10 berths along a 1,890-m (2,067-yd) coastal line with a total annual designated handling capacity of 68.3 million tons, among which 3.25 million tons is for ship unloading and 2.58 million tons for ship loading.

Wang Jun, vice general manager of China Energy Zhuhai Port, said that the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2024 and that the enterprise will undertake around 20 percent of the total coal transportation among Guangdong major ports and around one third of that in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area by then, further ensuring energy supply and security in the Greater Bay Area.

China Energy Zhuhai Port, a subordinate to China Energy, was founded on April 26, 2011, with 1.95 billion yuan ($270 million) in registered capital. It has now grown into Zhuhai's largest port operator. It has imported 1,046 tons of coal and exported 1,030 tons of coal since the start of 2022.