Transport conglomerate China Merchants Holdings (International) Co Ltd has received the green light to operate a 4.5 billion yuan logistics (US $554.9 million) project in the northern city of Qingdao, the South China Morning Post reported on August 15.
China Merchants, which received government approval in late July, plans to build seven berths with an annual capacity of 2.5 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUS) and 600,000 tonnes of cargo at Qianwan in Qingdao, the paper quoted the firm's executive director Hu Zheng as saying.
The first berth is expected to commence operations at the end of next year, it said. The company also plans to build a logistics centre that occupies 400,000 square metres, the report said.
China Merchants plans to finance about 35 percent of the deal from internal funds and the rest from loans, it said.
Shares in China Merchants, a member of the blue chip Hang Seng index last ended at HK$16.55. The stock advanced more than 11 percent in the month ended Friday.