Han Ximin

1824295095@qq.com

SHENZHEN Port opened a total of 22 combined ports with nine Pearl River Delta cities since the Combined Port program was launched in October 2020.

In 2022, a total of 210,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) were handled, up 86.22% year on year, data from the Shenzhen Municipal Transport Bureau showed yesterday.

The Combined Port program in the Greater Bay Area, initiated by Shenzhen Customs and the municipal transport bureau, was first applied at Beijiao Port in the city of Foshan.

Under the program, freights from the Delta cities outside Shenzhen, after completing customs procedures, can embark on shipping vessels without necessarily going through a second customs check. It enables ports in the Pearl River Estuary under different customs administrations to share codes.

The internet-based blockchain network that covers the whole foreign trade process, including ports, customs, logistics, enterprises, banks and insurance firms in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, helps improve service efficiency. It has also realized the goal of having multiple ports acting as one and facilitating port logistics and customs clearance.

Goods imported to the nine Pearl River Delta cities via Shenzhen Port don’t need customs declarations at their destinations.

The simplified procedures help cut 30% of customs declaration costs and enable port companies to schedule inland river transportation with international cargo liners timely and efficiently. The time for cargos staying in port areas is reduced from five to seven days to two days, according to the Shenzhen transport bureau.

The program also helps reduce customs declaration fees for shipping companies, improve TEU throughput and efficiency of ports.