China's shipbuilding industry continued to grow rapidly in 2006, with the number of orders growing significantly and international competitiveness improving. China remains the third largest shipbuilder in the world behind the Republic of Korea and Japan, and the gap is narrowing. China's two largest shipbuilding companies - China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) - both made rapid development. CSSC completed 103 ships with a total carrying capacity of 6.02 million tons, 50 percent of the national total and the third largest of any single company in the world. It quadrupled its total profit from 2005. One of its subsidiaries - Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Corporation, has built ships with a tonnage capacity surpassing three million, holding its place as China's largest single dockyard.

CSSC received orders for ships with a combined carrying capacity of 22.18 million tons last year, exceeding the national total of 17.21 million tons in 2005, with the contract value exceeding 100 billion yuan. Currently, the CSSC have new orders for ships with a combined carrying capacity of over 30 million tons at a contract amount of over 150 billion yuan. It took the second largest number of orders of any single company in the world last year.

The large, modern shipbuilding bases at Changjiang and Zhujiang Ports, both key projects of the State, are undergoing rapid construction. The Shanghai Changxing Shipbuilding Base, still under construction, has already received orders for ships capable of carrying over 7 million tons. Guangzhou Longxue base has already accepted an order for four 300,000-ton-class Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) ships. After construction of the two bases is completed in 2008, CSSC's shipbuilding capacity will double, and it will then become a contender for the world's largest shipbuilding group.

CSIC's main business income reached 62.2 billion yuan and it received orders for ships with a combined carrying capacity of 6.2 million tons, surpassing the targets set at the beginning of last year. Now they have orders for ships with a combined carrying capacity of 14.25 million tons, with a contract value of 120.5 billion yuan.

By Peaple's Daily Online