Busan is good

Busan New Port opens multinational logistics center

Contents

A multinational logistics center, which will bring in high value-added profits, opened in Busan New Port on Friday (July 13).

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minster Kang Moo-Hyun, Busan Metropolitan City government officials, and around 300 others attended the inauguration ceremony.

The Busan Metropolitan City government has injected 11 billion won into the global logistics site's construction since last December.

According to the city, the center will dramatically enhance Busan New Port's cargo working capacity and produce value-added profits. It will also serve as an East Asian procurement hub for multinational logistics companies, especially those of Japan.

The center is expected to process 30,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) and create jobs for 70 people annually.

Different from common container freight stations (CFS), the center can classify and label products, assemble parts, and generate value-added profits.

Japanese logistics corporations are expected to be major customers, considering Japan's high labor costs and the storage shipping charges associated with Japan's geographical location. The Japanese firms can stock necessary products in the Busan center and order them as necessary, drastically cutting shipping costs.

Korea's first international logistics consortium, comprising four companies, is set to start operation in the new center. Daewoo Logistics Corp. (51% stake) and three Japanese logistics firms pulled together to establish Busan Kukje.

By early next year, seven more consortia are expected to move into Busan New Port's free trade zone and process 230,000 TEU of freight.

The Busan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office plans to have 21 logistics companies in the free trade zone by 2010 -- handling over 760,000 TEU a year.

The source of news: Korea.net   July 13, 2007