City joins hallowed ranks of world’s ‘Super Ports’
- Contents
-
Busan Port has become one of the world’s “Super Hub Ports.” This honor is awarded to ports that have handled more than 15 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in a single year. Until now, only the four ports of Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Singapore held this title.
According to Busan City, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and Busan Port Authority (BPA), the accumulated container traffic handled by Busan Port as of December 7 has exceeded 15 million TEUs.
The final figure is expected to hit 16 million TEUs by the end of this year, breaking the previous record of 14.19 million TEUs.
Busan City along with the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and Busan Port Authority (BPA) held a ceremony to celebrate the achievement at Busan New Port. At this event, Busan City Mayor Hur Nam-sik, Land Minister Kwon Do-youp, Gyeongnam Governor Kim Du-kwan and Roh Ki-tae, president of the BPA, joined some 500 executives in feting the landmark.
Busan Port opened Korea’s first container dock, called the Jaseongdae Container Terminal, in 1978 and subsequently developed it into a container-centered port. The port, a main gateway for the country’s imports and exports, also played a key role in helping Korea emerge as only the ninth nation to join the coveted 1 trillion dollar trade club.
Busan Port’s remarkable development was made possible thanks to the support of Busan New Port, which began operating on January 19, 2006. It only accounted for 11.7 percent of the total volume at Busan Port as of the end of 2008, but this shot up to 22.5 percent in 2009 and 38.6 percent in 2010.
As of the end of October this year, Busan New Port has handled a whopping 47.3 percent of the total volume of Busan Port.
The source of news: Dynamic Busan
