China News Service, Baise, Guangxi, October 28 (Chen Qiuxia, Meng Mingming) On October 28, in the Xiangzhou operating area of Tiandong Port District, Baise Port, Guangxi, dozens of fully loaded 1,000-ton cargo ships were parked and queued up, waiting to be unloaded. Since the opening of the Pinglu Canal, cargo ships carrying bulk commodities such as coal and bauxite have traveled upriver from the Beibu Gulf via the Pinglu Canal. They have been reloaded at the Liujing Operation Area of Nanning Port and then arrived at the Baise Port Area for unloading.
Wei Kang, director of the Port and Shipping Development Center of the Tiandong County Transportation Bureau in Baise City, said in an interview that day that after the opening of the Pinglu Canal, the Xiangzhou operation area has become increasingly busy, and the cargo throughput has increased significantly compared with before the opening of the Pinglu Canal. "The goods arriving at the port are basically raw materials purchased by local companies in Baise. In the first month of the opening of the Pinglu Canal, the throughput of Xiangzhou Port increased by 100,000 tons."
Nearly half of the goods in the Xiangzhou operation area of Baise Port come from Tiandong Jinjiang Industrial Park. Tang Meng, deputy director of Tiandong Jinjiang Industrial Park, said that 70% to 80% of the bauxite required for production in the park is imported. It was originally landed at Qinzhou Port and then transported by road or railway, which was costly. After the opening of the Pinglu Canal, imported bauxite was switched to water transportation. "Compared with the previous railway and automobile transportation modes, the cost was reduced by 20% to 30%."
Tang Meng said that in response to the changes in the logistics pattern brought about by the Pinglu Canal, the park established a logistics department to coordinate the transportation of all materials in the park and reduce logistics costs. At present, a small amount of methylene chloride, chloroform and other products produced in the park have been sold to ASEAN, and raw materials such as glycerol are imported from ASEAN. In the next step, the park will go to Southeast Asia to investigate the market demand for chemicals and alumina, and lay out product lines that connect to the canal's sea access.
Currently, the "Baise Port Master Plan (2035)" has been approved by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region government and will improve the "Youjiang-Pinglu Canal-Beibu Gulf Port" river-sea intermodal transport system. Baise Port is the core supply port in the upper reaches of the Pinglu Canal Economic Belt and a key carrier for the hinterland of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi to connect the river and the sea. Tiandong Port Area is one of the core port areas of Baise Port.
Wei Kang introduced that the rail-water intermodal transport project in the Nadu operating area of Tiandong Port Area plans to have eight 2,000-ton berths and a dedicated railway line of 6.4 kilometers. When completed, the throughput will reach 9.7 million tons. It will serve the southwest region's cargo to go to sea efficiently and reach ASEAN countries such as Vietnam.
According to the "Baise Port Master Plan (2035)", Baise City will promote the early stage approval of projects such as the reconstruction and expansion of the Ertang Operation Area of the Baise Logistics Hub Port, the water-rail intermodal transportation of the Nadu Operation Area in Tiandong Port District, and the second phase of the Namao Operation Area in Pingguo Port District. It will also accelerate the upgrading of the Youjiang Channel and the construction of navigation facilities at the Baise Water Conservancy Hub. It will also improve the collection and distribution systems such as port-drainage roads and dedicated railway lines, and continue to build an important distribution and intermodal transport hub for the New Land-Sea Corridor in the West.
