Tianjin Port (Group) Co, the country's third largest in terms of cargo throughput, plans to invest 12.8 billion yuan (US$1.87 billion) this year to build new berths and upgrade facilities, a top executive said.

The busiest harbor in Northern China, Tianjin Port plans to build a coal terminal jointly with the country's largest coal miner China Shenhua Group and a 200,000-ton-grade crude oil terminal, Yu Yumin, the port's chairman said at the sidelines of the annual sessions of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and National People's Congress.

Cargo throughput has been decreasing since last July, as exports and imports growth slumped as a result of the global financial crisis, Yu told China Business News yesterday.

Total throughput recorded negative growth in January compared with a year ago, Yu said, adding that business was picking up in February.

Tianjin Port's total cargo throughput is expected to rise 7.3 percent this year to 380 million tons, the Group's Shanghai-listed Tianjin Port Co said in a stock exchange filing last month.

(China Daily March 4, 2009)