It has been suggested that there is an urgent need for the expansion of international passenger terminal to promote cargo traffic in the port of Pyeongtaek.

Inviting the shippers of Shandong Province, China, Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corporation(GPPC) held 'the presentation meeting to attract cargoes' in their public relation room on the 22nd of May.

The purpose of this meeting was to draw interest from Shandong shippers' delegation by introducing current operation status and development plans for the port.

Presently there is a container and car-ferry route linking Pyeongtaek and the ports of Shandong province including Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai.

After the meeting in the PR room, the delegation moved to the investment counselling room to listen to introduction of the port facilities, its hinterland and construction plan for international passenger terminal. There was also a time for questions and answers regarding the future port development.

Then the delegation was on board 'Sea World', a harbor guide boat, to look around the cargo wharfs for containers, car-ferry, automobiles as well as the site for international passenger terminal.

Particularly they expressed high interest in the passenger/cargo handling facilities that will be constructed in the east container berth. This project is expect to unburden the shortage of facilities at the passenger terminal.

One of the Chinese delegation said "What with insufficient space around passenger terminal, it is hard to increase cargo volume even if we want to. Further, the process of customs clearance support also tends to take more time and more intricate than other ports. We partly understand it from the procedural point of view, however, we look forward to the swift resolution as much as possible."

In this regards Mr. Choi, a CEO of GPPC, stated as follows "The port of Pyeongtaek is most competitive in handling Chinese cargoes and passengers. The least distance from China, being located as a gateway to the metropolitan area, the coverage of Kyeonggi Province and Chungcheong Province where there are a few hundred of industrial complexes are the advantages of the Pyeongtaek port."

He continued "It's sad to hear that the supply can't keep up with the demand, but we will try to solve the problems as soon as possible in co-operation with related organizations."

Meantime, about 40 people attended at the presentation meeting, most of whom were entrepreneurs from Yantai as well as the staff of Federation of Korean Industries.

* Photo Caption

Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corporation(GPPC) held the presentation meeting to attract cargoes targeting the shippers of Shandong Province, China in their public relation room.