China continues expanding shipbuilding capacity

Just when everyone is bemoaning the growing overcapacity in the world’s shipbuilding industry, the government of the Guangxi region, located in south western China, approves a plan to develop an area in the region into a large shipbuilding base.

According to the plan, the new shipbuilding facility will have an annual capacity of two million DWT by 2020 and an annual shiprepairing capacity of 900 vessels. Its shipbuilding dock will be able to build ships of up 100,000 DWT.

By 2010, the region’s annual newbuilding throughput aims to reach 100 million tonnes and 300 million tonnes by 2020.