"One dock and two anchorages": Guangzhou Port's expanded opening-up successfully passes national inspection (with photos)

The picture shows passengers boarding a ship at the Hong Kong-Macao Ferry Terminal in Pazhou to head to Hong Kong, China, while customs officers at the Guangzhou Convention and Exhibition Center supervise the departure of passengers. Photographed by Han Jianquan

The picture shows: An international cargo ship docked at the Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port, loading and unloading goods. Photographed by Han Jianquan

On December 11, the national acceptance meeting for the expanded opening of Guangzhou port was held in Guangzhou. After the inspection organized by the National Port Administration Office, the Pazhou Wharf, Lantau Island, and Sanmen Island anchorages of Guangzhou port successfully passed the national acceptance. This means that Guangzhou port has achieved deep integration of three-dimensional transportation among major cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, marking a new stage of energy level leap in the deep integration and development of the port clusters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has added strong support for the "hard connectivity" of infrastructure and the "soft connectivity" of rules and mechanisms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Since the 1980s, Guangzhou Port has successively opened its passenger terminal, petrochemical terminal, grain terminal, automobile terminal, cruise terminal, container terminal, etc. to the outside world. Guangzhou Port has gradually evolved from a feeder port and a supply port in the past to a comprehensive main hub port open to the outside world. Currently, Guangzhou Port is the largest comprehensive hub port in South China. After the acceptance of this expansion and opening-up project, in terms of passenger transportation, cross-border high-speed passenger ferry routes from central Guangzhou to urban areas of Hong Kong and Macao will be established. In terms of freight transportation, the comprehensive service capability of foreign trade logistics in Guangzhou Port will be significantly enhanced.

According to reports, the Pazhou Hong Kong-Macao Ferry Terminal (hereinafter referred to as "Pazhou Terminal"), which has passed the acceptance inspection, commenced site selection and construction in 2019. Currently, it boasts five 500-ton berths, with a shoreline length of approximately 280 meters, and a supporting 6,500-square-meter port joint inspection building. On September 4, 2022, the State Council approved the opening of the Pazhou Terminal port to the outside world. On April 10, 2023, the Ministry of Transport approved the temporary entry and exit of international navigation ships at the Pazhou Terminal.

Chen Shaotao, the Deputy Director of the Guangzhou Convention and Exhibition Center Customs under Guangzhou Customs, introduced that the Pazhou Ferry Terminal, which commenced trial operations on April 14, 2023, serves as the sole waterborne cross-border passenger port in the central urban area of Guangzhou. Currently, the terminal operates with a daily schedule of "3 inbound and 3 outbound" flights during regular times, and "6 inbound and 6 outbound" flights during peak periods. During the trial operation period, as of December 10 this year, Guangzhou Customs has supervised approximately 7,400 inbound and outbound ship trips, with over 340,000 inbound and outbound passengers.

It is understood that the Lantau Island anchorage site for this inspection is located in the Pearl River Estuary waters near Lantau Island, Hong Kong, while the Sanmen Island anchorage site is situated near the Sanmen Islands in the northwest of the Wanshan Archipelago outside the Pearl River Estuary. Both anchorage sites belong to public offshore anchorages, primarily used for transshipment and load reduction operations, and are temporarily opened every six months upon approval by the Ministry of Transport. In recent years, with the gradual deepening of the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an increasing number of import ships have arrived at the Nansha Port Area of Guangzhou Port after load reduction through these anchorage sites. Guangzhou Customs has continuously strengthened communication with the port authorities of Guangdong Province and Guangzhou Municipal Government, supporting the integration of the Lantau Island and Sanmen Island anchorage sites into the Guangzhou Port Expansion and Opening Project, and promoting better service for the opening and development of Guangzhou Port.

The relevant person in charge of the Comprehensive Business Division of Guangzhou Customs stated that the Customs will continue to support the optimization of the layout of Guangzhou port and enhance its international competitiveness, in collaboration with the port authorities of Guangdong Province and Guangzhou Municipal Government. This will assist in building Guangzhou Nansha into a major strategic platform based in the Bay Area, coordinating with Hong Kong and Macao, and facing the world, accelerating the deep integration and development of the world-class city clusters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. (Guan Yue/Text)