Shanghai International Port (Group), a Chinese firm listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, has signed a framework agreement with the A.P. Moller Maesk Group to co-manage the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, Shanghai Securities News said Tuesday.

It will be the first time the manager of the Shanghai port, the largest in China, will manage a foreign port, the report said.

Zeebrugge is the second largest port in Belgium and the sixth largest port in Europe, serving not only Belgium, but also the hinterland of France.

The port can currently handle 750,000 containers annually, but the figure will rise to two million when construction work is completed, the report said.

The signing of the agreement followed a visit to Zeebrugge earlier this year by Shanghai International Port (Group) officials.

Though the Shanghai port is already the third largest in the world in terms of container capacity, company officials said the penetration of overseas markets is a must if it wants to become an international shipping giant.

The Zeebrugge project is the company's first step in developing a global strategy, company officials were quoted as saying.

No details of the deal were provided.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2006)