The nation’s largest land reclamation project in a commercial sea port has been completed after nine years of construction, Taiwan International Ports Corp announced yesterday.
The Port of Kaohsiung Intercontinental Container Terminal Phase II project was launched in March 2011 to address the challenges facing the port and help it respond to the rapid changes in the global shipping sector, the company said.
The project has expanded the port’s hinterland, which would streamline container terminal operations, it said, adding that the added area would enable the construction of new deep-water berths for large container vessels.
It also opens up new opportunities for investments by manufacturers, the company said.
The reclaimed land covers 422.5 hectares, about 16 the size of Taipei’s Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園), it said, adding that the project also includes a 6.81km-long outer breakwater.
The reclaimed land would be used to build a warehousing logistics center, a container terminal and a bulk carrier terminal, the company added.
Nineteen new deep-water wharves — five berths that can service mega-container vessels, 10 for petrochemical ships and to accommodate bulk cargo vessels — would also be built, it said.
The project cost NT$112.5 billion (US$3.75 billion), with NT$26.9 billion from the government, the company said, adding that the remainder was funded by private investors.
As the project is also the nation’s largest marine engineering project over the past few decades, construction followed the principle of sustainability, the company said, adding that it has launched key water and ecological protection and conservation initiatives through the project.
The company said that it has signed long-term contracts and leased part of the reclaimed land to CPC Corp, Taiwan, and other petrochemical companies.
To further solidify the Port of Kaohsiung as a key western Pacific shipping hub, the port company said it has signed a long-term contract with Evergreen Marine Corp, which would lease the container terminal.
The port company said it has yet to find tenants for the bulk carrier terminal.
“We hope the project will enhance our modern container ship handling and logistics capabilities,” it said.
It made significant progress in restoring and repurposing the port’s old harbor area, the port company said, adding that it would soon relocate bulk carriers from the port’s Zhongdao Wharf to the new bulk cargo carrier terminal.
This would free up land surrounding Zhongdao Wharf for more lucrative ventures that would help increase the port’s revenue, it said.
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