Building starts at Qingdao

Construction of a shipyard project, believed to be the largest of its kind in China, commenced recently at Haixiwan Bay in Qingdao, a port in east China’s Shandong province.

Covering an area of 5.7 square kilometers, the Haixiwan Shipbuilding Base will form part of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and cost an investment of 7.4 billion Yuan ($912 million). The yard?s facilities will consist of four parts including a shipbuilding zone and a ship repair zone. The shipbuilding zone includes two shipyards, one of which will accommodate ships of 500,000 DWT.

The project is expected to be completed in 2007 and start operations in 2008 with an initial annual deadweight capacity of 4.68 million tonnes. This is expected to increase to 10 million tonnes by 2010 with a total industrial output value of 80 billion Yuan ($9.8 billion).