(PEI XIN)

The northern area of the Yangshan Deepwater Port near China's largest business hub, Shanghai, passed a government-led quality inspection on September 16 and formally opened to service. The port now has 16 berths for container ships, with an annual throughput of 9.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

The construction of the port, which began in 2002, is part of Shanghai's efforts to turn itself into a major international shipping center. Upon its completion in 2020, the $12-billion port will be able to handle 25 million TEUs of containers every year.