A FREIGHTER being towed into berth by Huaneng Qingdao Port Co. Ltd. on Dec. 25, marked the opening of trials at Dongjiakou Port in Qingdao.

    The berths are the first to open at the port area. “The focus of the company will next shift from planning and construction to operations,” Chen Jingchuan, general manager of the company, said.

    Huaneng berths include a 50,000-ton and a 35,000-ton berth which cost 855 million yuan. Work on the two berths started in 2009. Throughput is initially expected to reach 4 million tons a year and eventually 7.26 million tons. The main structure of the berths was finished in December.

    The berths will be used mainly for coal, effectively increasing supplies of coal for power stations in Shandong Province and help to stabilize the price.

    Planned annual throughput was 1 million tons this year.

    (Wang Yuanyuan, Han Guangliang)