A channel at China's Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is being deepened to allow 300,000-ton ships, making it the deepest man-made channel in the country on completion.

The government is investing 500 million yuan in dredging the Xiazhimen channel to 22.5 meters below the possible lowest tide height, and the channel should be put into use in June next year.

The project was launched after the number of vessels over 150,000 tons navigating the channel surged from 80 in 2003 to more than 360 last year, said Ren Zhong, deputy director of Zhejiang Port and Shipping Administrative Bureau.

With the deep channel, vessels of more than 150,000 tons could enter the port directly and would no longer need to unload cargo or wait for the tide, reducing transportation costs and the risk of accidents, said Ren.

It is estimated that oil and ore shipping companies using the channel could save 100 million yuan every year, said Ren.

As the world's third largest port, Ningbo-Zhoushan plays an important role in the economically booming Yangtze valley and the river's delta. More than 40 percent of China's oil is transported or stored at the port.

Besides the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, Tianjin, Qingdao and Zhanjiang also have plans to build 300,000-ton channels.

"By 2010, China will have three or four 300,000-ton channels," said Yao Jinyuan, senior engineer with Shanghai Waterway Engineering Design and Consulting Co., Ltd., which participated in the Xiazhimen project.

With 19 deep-water berths and another six under construction, Xiazhimen would become the busiest of China's deep-water channels, said Yao.

Source: Xinhua