Chinese Mega Ports Increased in Number in 2011

There were 26 ports in China handling over 100-million tons each by end of year 2011

The number of such ports was 22 in 2010, and 12 in 2006. Among the 26 100-million-ton handling capacity ports, 17 are costal and nine are inland, said a statistical bulletin, which was commissioned by China's Ministry of Transport and featured in 'China Daily'.

Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, in east China's Zhejiang province, came out on top, with an annual handling capacity of 694 million tons of throughput in 2011, according to the statistical bulletin.

Eleven ports on the list are located in the Yangtze River Delta, and two are in the central and western regions of China: Chongqing Port and Beibu Gulf Port.

China has also seen a strong momentum of growth in its inland ports with three of the four newly listed ports in 2011.The central government will allocate US$7.15 billion in the 2011-2015 period to facilitate inland navigation.