Container Terminal 7 of the port of Kaohsiung, which started operations in May 2023, is expected to increase the annual container handling capacity of the Taiwanese port by 6.5 million TEUs, according to Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC), which is now focussed on the upgrade of two other box terminals.
TIPC has now shifted its attention to Port of Kaohsiung’s 3rd and 5th Container Terminals and adjacent container yard areas aiming to further enhance port competitiveness and realize sustainable growth goals.
TIPC noted that “with shipping companies commissioning increasingly larger container ships, streamlining hub and feeder port operations, and raising overall shipping capabilities, existing port infrastructures, from wharf water depths and support facilities to navigation channels, are increasingly inadequate for industry needs.”
Therefore, beyond constructing the new Container Terminal 7, TIPC has allocated an additional budget of NT$4.469 billion (around US$140 million) to improve and upgrade infrastructures at the port’s 3rd and 5th Container Terminals, which, once completed, will significantly increase the handling capacity and operational efficiencies.
At Container Terminal 3 Wharf No. 70, the water depth will be lowered from -13.5m to -15.2m, and 100 feet (30.48 metres) of new gantry crane track along with new dockside handling equipment will be installed. Additionally, at Container Terminal 5 Wharf Nos. 77~79, the water depth will be lowered from -14.5m to -17.0, and 120 feet (36.60 metres) of new gantry crane track along with new dockside handling equipment will be installed.
Furthermore, in line with ongoing green-port commitments, new onshore power and water supply systems are being installed to move TIPC ports closer to international zero-carbon targets.
The works on the two container terminals began on 21 February 2024 and the project is scheduled to be completed by summer 2027.
TIPC has decided to split the project into several phases in order not to affect the normal operations of the port.
Moreover, TIPC will jointly invest with shipping companies in the Container Terminal 5 improvement work, with TIPC handling wharf improvements and companies upgrading container yard facilities. Once completed, companies may invest in and install state-of-the-art container handling equipment and shipside gantry cranes to handle the world’s largest-class container carriers.
In addition, the deepening of water depths in and around these terminals will improve safe access to modern container ships, increase the advantage to shipping operators, and raise port operating efficiencies, according to the TIPC statement.
