The start of shuttle services between Chongqing Cuntan, Luzhou and Yibing is expected to raise the proportion of Chongqing’s transhipments to at least 30 per cent, according to officials from Chongqing Municipal Commission of Foreign Trade and Relations.

The shuttle service, with fixed departure and arrival times, will deploy 200 TEU vessels. The services are expected to bring in additional 100,000 TEU from outside the city. Trade officials said that if half of these transhipment containers are for export and clear customs in Cuntan, they will bring about at least US$2bn in foreign trade.