On the morning of September 17, 2025, two 5000 ton flatbed barges and 12 construction vehicles sounded their horns simultaneously in the Guang'ao Port Area of Shantou Port, causing sand and stones to pour into the sea. The construction of the third phase of the Guang'ao Port Area of Shantou Port, with a total investment of about 11.4 billion yuan, officially began. This major project, which has been planned for nearly a decade, carries the ambitious goal of Shantou to build a comprehensive trade and shipping center.

As one of the 27 major coastal ports in China, five major ports in Guangdong Province and an important node of the the Belt and Road Initiative, Shantou Port has a significant strategic position. Guang'ao Port Area, with its superior water depth and location, has become the only core port area and public logistics hub in eastern Guangdong. Since the introduction of China Merchants Group for capital increase and share expansion in 2017, the Guang'ao Port Area has achieved leapfrog development and significantly increased its market share in container throughput. But with the expansion of business, the enlargement of ships, and the transfer of port functions, the Guang'ao Port Area urgently needs to be upgraded.

The Phase III project of Guang'ao Port Area is located in Haojiang District, Shantou, with rich core construction content. Constructing two 100000 ton and one 70000 ton container berths can solve the problem of shallow water constraints, enabling Shantou Port to dock major global container ships and seize opportunities in ocean shipping routes; Construct seven 20000 to 50000 ton general berths to undertake bulk cargo business and stabilize local supply. At the same time, the land formation project of the Guang'ao Station of the Guangmeishan Railway from Shantou Station to Guang'ao Port Area will enable containers to disembark and board the train, providing fast access to the inland hinterland. After the completion of the project, Shantou Port will transform from the endpoint of the route to an international first-class port area, with a leap in cargo aggregation capacity, providing solid support for the construction of a national comprehensive transportation hub in Shantou and a key puzzle in building a large transportation pattern, helping to achieve the strategic goals of the 15302 travel transportation circle and the 123 fast goods logistics circle.

This project has a huge activating effect on industrial development. After completion, the annual design throughput capacity of goods and containers in Guang'ao Port Area will be significantly improved, alleviating the bottleneck of insufficient terminal capacity, reducing logistics costs for foreign trade enterprises in eastern Guangdong, and providing core momentum for building a comprehensive trade and shipping center in the southeast coastal region. Among them, three dedicated wind power berths will solve the transportation problems of Shantou's offshore wind power industry, form an efficient linkage pattern, and help build an "international wind power innovation port". At the same time, we will promote the construction of modern ocean farms, advance the integration of offshore wind power and ocean farms, and enable high-quality aquatic products to reach the global market faster.

The construction of the third phase of the Guang'ao Port Area project is a decisive move in the functional transfer strategy of Shantou Port. It will be deeply integrated with industries such as the Shugang Railway and wind power, reducing the burden on the central urban area, empowering the new city, driving the development and construction of Haojiang District and even the south bank of Shantou, attracting high-end industries to gather, and giving birth to a coastal new city that promotes production through the port and prospers the city through production, injecting surging momentum into the high-quality development of Shantou. Editor/Cheng Liting