(CFP Photo)

In the first half of the year, cargo and container throughput at ports in Jiangsu Province reached 1.65 billion tonnes and 12 million TEUs, respectively, showing a year-on-year increase of 6.0% and 6.9%.

Among the ports, Jiangyin Port handled cargo of more than 177 million tonnes in the same period, up 4.92% year-on-year, and this included foreign trade freight of about 31.6 million tonnes, up 4.13% year-on-year.

At Lianyungang Port, the cargo throughput surged by 11.7% to 149 million tonnes, said Wang Youzhi, deputy manager of the Transportation Management Department of Lianyungang Port Group's Rail Freight Branch.

A visit to Yangzhou Port on July 28 found a busy scene at the site, with the volume of foreign trade containers soaring by 52% in the first half of the year, a record high.

In addition, foreign trade throughput at Zhenjiang Port, Taizhou Port, Nanjing Port, Yancheng Port and Huai'an Port expanded by 40.9%, 27.9%, 21.9%, 36.5% and 33.3%, respectively.

The robust growth came as the province enhanced the port transportation network to support the smooth operation of supply chain and industrial chain. Nanjing Port, for example, operates over 200 shipping services each week, covering routes for foreign trade, domestic trade and transit. In the Yangtze River basin, Nanjing ranks first in terms of the service frequency of near-sea shipping lines and inland transport for foreign trade.

Jiangsu has also actively expanded port investment to accelerate foreign trade, with a focus on the construction of major projects. In the first half of the year, the province completed a total of 12.78 billion yuan of investment in port and waterway infrastructure, an increase of 7.1%.