SANYA, April 26. /TASS/. The container throughput of Hainan's Yangpu port in the first quarter of 2021 exceeded 249,200 TEU (the equivalent of a standard 20-foot container), which is 72.58% higher compared to the same period last year, reported the Hainan Daily newspaper.

According to the news outlet, about 23% — 57,600 TEU — fell on foreign trade.

According to official statistics, Yangpu's container traffic grew by 44% in 2020, exceeding one million standard containers. Currently, the sea terminal is actively developing infrastructure that will significantly increase the regular flow of goods. Investments in the project to increase cargo turnover amounted to 780 million yuan (about $ 120 million). According to the plan, this year Yangpu's throughput will increase by 1.5 times, to 1.6 million TEU.

Yangpu plays a key role in the development of China's transportation and logistics network. In 2020, the GDP of this economic region where more than 89,000 people permanently reside, exceeded 27.9 billion yuan ($ 4.3 billion), an increase of 10.5%. In accordance with the "Comprehensive plan for the formation of a new integrated sea and land corridor" of the Chinese State Committee for Development and Reforms, by 2035 the port will become a key point for the distribution of goods flow from the country's various regions to Southeast Asia and Oceania, Europe and North America. It is expected that by 2025 it will become a major regional transport hub, through which up to 5 million containers will pass annually.