The leading committee of Wuhan New Port agreed on a set of 2010 targets at a meeting on 6 February. The targets include a 15.5 per cent year-on-year increase to 100m tons of general cargo throughput and a 25 per cent increase to 710,000 TEU in container throughput.

A total of Rmb12bn of government money will be invested in 80 projects, nearly double that of last year. The target also envisages attracting inward investment of more than Rmb20bn.

Wuhan New Port is a provincial government-driven project to develop Wuhan and the neighbouring cluster of ports in an effort to accommodate and serve the rapid pace of industrialisation in the region. On 3 February, four building projects − a bulk terminal in Wuxue port, a multi-purpose terminal in Huangzhou port, a steel-handling terminal and another cement-handling terminal in Huangshi port − started construction at the same time. Between them, they will have an annual handling capacity of 15m tons and involve a total investment of Rmb392m.