China Infrastructure Group-controlled Wuhan Yangluo terminal recorded a container throughput of 113,900 teu in the first six months of 2009, up 31 per cent over the same period last year. The company attributed the surge to the re-opening of the Yangluo-Yangshan route on 28 February.

The direct route, re-opened with the help of local government subsidies to shipping lines, allows containers from Wuhan to reach Yangshan Bonded terminal in Shanghai within 48 hours, according to Ms Jia Bo, assistant to the general manager of Wuhan Yangluo terminal. Regular calls are available four times a week. By 30 June, 135 container barges had sailed non-stop to Shanghai with a 100 per cent punctuality rate. In June alone, throughput reached a record 26,000 teu, making Yangluo the largest container terminal in Wuhan. Most of the increase in cargo is from outside Wuhan, according to Jia.

Experts predicts that the new direct route, suspended earlier due to a lack of business that caused commercial losses, may build the critical mass thanks to the government subsidy and help establish Wuhan as a future transhipment centre.