China Watch Blog

The easy answer to the question why Kaohsiung is starting a logistics park is that the administration wants to revive the use and interest in Kaohsiung port which is literally “dying”.  Between January and October, 2009, Kaohsiung port handled 7.75 million TEU, and the port is not expected to  catch up with the 9.67 million TEU registered in 2008. As a result, Kaohsiung port administration has started a land development project, the largest of its kind in a decade, to build a 38.8-hectare zone as a delivery hub and a free trade port. The port administration said it will lure three firms, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Wan Hai Marine Transport Co. and the Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas International Limited, to station in the proposed free trade port. So, work to start this project must have been started sometime ago.  Both Wan Hai and Orient Overseas are expected to lease a land area of 23 hectares combined in the prospective zone. In 2013, Kaohsiung Port Administration will reclaim a land plot of 50 hectares beside the No. 6 container center and include the reclaimed land space in the free trade port, so as to transform the Kaohsiung Port into a large-sized logistics port. Transport logistics professionals may find opportunities in this development.