In 2006, the government of Fujian Province decided to combine existing facilities at Haican, Songyu, Liu, and Zhangzhou to form the new Port of Xiamen (Chinese language website) to be administered by the Xiamen Port Authority.
Among the responsibilities of the port authority are implementing policies and enforcing regulations related to the harbor and shipping channel, formulating development plans for the Port of Xiamen, and administering harbor lands and waters. The Xiamen Port Authority also supervises harbor engineering projects, constructs and maintains Port of Xiamen public-use infrastructure (including large equipment), and administers administering port operations.
The port authority manages harbor security, including dangerous cargoes, and assures safety in the Port of Xiamen. The port authority schedules ship movements and pilot assignments, coordinates the transport of State materials, and manages the shipment of military materials within the Port of Xiamen.
The Xiamen Port Authority is responsible for levying and collecting fees related to shipping and the harbor and collecting and reporting Port of Xiamen shipping statistics. The port authority is represents the Port of Xiamen in relations with both domestic and international ports, with special attention on ports in Taiwan. The port authority also handles litigation related to the Port of Xiamen and carries out other duties assigned by the municipal government.
Located on the Taiwan Straits almost 200 nautical miles from the Port of Taipei, the Port of Xiamen is among China's most important seaports. The Port of Xiamen enjoys natural conditions that make it an ideal destination for today's cargo vessels. Kinmen Island is a natural barrier that protects the Port of Xiamen's harbor from heavy waves and winds. The Port of Xiamen has an ice-free, silt-free harbor and an anchorage area of 19 square kilometers (7.3 square miles). The approach channel to the Port of Xiamen is 42 kilometers (68 miles) long with a depth of 14 meters (12.7 feet).
The Port of Xiamen is an integral part of China's transportation system and an important stop for container ships traveling to/from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The Port of Xiamen is the 8th busiest container port in the People's Republic of China and the 30th busiest in the world. It is China's 4th major port for handling sixth-generation container vessels.
The world's top 20 leading shipping companies have shipping routes and operations in the Port of Xiamen. More than 68 shipping routes serve over 50 countries, with an average of 469 ship calls at the Port of Xiamen every month.
The Port of Xiamen contains 122 working berths, including 37 deep-water berths that host 53 international container shipping lines. Ships to 100 thousand tons can anchor in the Port of Xiamen's inner port, and ships of 50 thousand tons can enter the port for loading and unloading. The Port of Xiamen is served by a special-use railway line.
Cargo throughput at the Port of Xiamen exceeded 13 million tons in 1995 including 7.2 million tons of foreign imports and exports. Container throughput reached 310 thousand TEUs in 1995. In 2003, the Port of Xiamen handled 34 million tons of cargo, including 2.3 million TEUs of containerized cargo.
The Port of Xiamen is made up of harbor districts. The Dongdu Port District is the leading port, and it is devoted to containers and general cargo. The Dayu District is dedicated to large-scale transshipments of containers and general cargo. Liuwudian Port handles containers and port logistics and supports heavy industry. Haicang Port focuses on containers and bulk cargoes. It is also the main district for transit and warehousing activities.
The Heping District is used for passenger traffic. It includes the International Tourist Ferry Terminal for cruise ships, the Heping Terminal for the ferry to Jinmen Island, and the Wutong Sea and Air Transport Dock. The Zhaoyin Port in the Port of Xiamen handles containers, dry bulk, and roll-on/roll-off cargoes.
The Gaoqi District is used for rail-water transportation. The Port of Xiamen's Xinglin District is used for industrial activities. Houshi Port District concentrates on bulk cargoes for heavy chemical industries, and the Haicang District supports offshore industry. The Songyu District is devoted to petroleum. Building materials are the major cargo in the Paitou District. Together, the Port of Xiamen's districts employ five thousand workers.
Xiamen has become one of the most important ports in China.
The Port of Xiamen is equipped with a wide range of machinery and equipment to handle all types of cargoes. This includes 60 and 90-ton barge cranes, 50-ton car cranes, 40-ton container bridge cranes, 40-ton container fork trucks, 35-ton container straddle carriers, and 30.5-ton crane ships. The Port of Xiamen also has automatic bagging equipment for bulk grains and fertilizer and an advanced stevedoring system for the coal wharf. In addition, the Port of Xiamen is equipped with a modern computer data management system and modern port facilities.
- Container terminals
The Port of Xiamen International Container Terminals (XICT) (Chinese language website) is located within the Haicang Port Zone within the Xiamen Special Economic Zone. Opening for business ion 1997, the XICT handles containers and other cargo and offers warehousing and logistics services. With the industrial growth and economic development of the Port of Xiamen, XICT's cargo volume and value-added services have grown exponentially.
The XICT is located centrally with easy access to the Port of Xiamen Haicang Taiwanese Investment Zone, the Xinlin Taiwanese Investment Zone, the Jiaomei Industrial Comprehensive Development Park, and the Mechanical and Electrical Industrial Zone. The XICT is just 1.5 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the Port of Xiamen Export Processing Zone.
Armed with state-of-the-art equipment and a well-developed infrastructure, the Port of Xiamen's XICT provides a wide range of services that maximize cargo-handling efficiencyand reduce costs. The XICT is linked to a sophisticated network of expressways that link it to other important cities in Fujian Province. The Yingtan-Xiamen, Xiamen-Shenzhen, and Xiamen-Longyan-Ganzhou Railways connect the Port of Xiamen with the nation's extensive rail network. A growing number of feeder services is making the XICT an international transshipment hub.
The XICT offers 1083 meters (almost 3.6 thousand feet) of quays that are equipped with the latest super post-Panamax container quay cranes, giving the terminal capacity to handle mega-size container vessels throughout the year.
- Bulk and breakbulk terminals
The Port of Xiamen Terminal covers seven square kilometers (2.7 square miles) of land area and 300 square kilometers (116 square miles) of water surface. The longest berth at Xiamen Terminal is 350 meters (over 1.1 thousand feet) long, and the Port of Xiamen Terminal can accommodate vessels to 50 thousand DWT. The terminal includes over 10 acres of warehouse space and almost 106 acres of open yards.
The major foreign cargoes handled at the Port of Xiamen Terminal include imports of wheat, cement, chemical fertilizer, coal, rolled steel, and sugar. The main exports include tea, salt, and graphite powder.
- Port services
The Xiamen Port Development Company, Ltd. provides port logistics services, operates the port and its equipment, provides import/export trading services for commodities, and directs the manufacture and sale of construction materials in the Port of Xiamen. Logistics services include integrating port activities and ship movements, freight-handling and storage, multi-modal transportation, transshipments, and information management. At the end of 2010, the company had eight subsidiaries and one associate organization.
The Port of Xiamen Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is located in the Dongdu Port District near a major national highway, the Ying-Zia railway, and the Gaoqi International Airport. Established in 1992, the FTZ covers 1.2 thousand acres. The FTZ offers a variety of business services including bonded warehousing, export processing, distribution logistics, and service trade. The FTZ has three main areas of activity: electronic and mechanical products, distributing imports/exports of stones, and international container transportation.
The Port of Xiamen Haicang Taiwanese Investment Zone (TIZ) includes the Xiamen Export Processing Zone. Operating since 1989, the Investment Zone covers more than 15 thousand acres. Its major investors include companies like Kodak, Black & Decker, Magnetics, Spang, Jianying Technology (Taiwan), and Lianda Computer (Hong Kong). The main industries supported in the Investment Zone include fine chemicals, electronics, precision machinery, bio-pharmaceuticals, and port logistics.
The Port of Xiamen Export Processing Zone (EPZ) was created in 2000 by the State Council to focus on economic cooperation with Taiwan. Located within the Port of Xiamen TIZ, is eight kilometers (almost 13 miles) from downtown, ten kilometers (over 16 miles) from the Gaoqi International Airport, and three kilometers (almost five miles) from the Haicang Train Station. In 2010, the value-added industrial output of the EPZ reached RMB 15.5 billion, an increase of over 58% from 2009, and gross industrial output reached RMB 54.5 billion (a 27% increase). Utilized Foreign Direct Investment was estimated to be USD $279.3 million.
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