CONSTRUCTION of most of the sixth phase at Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Port has been completed, and the facilities will be operational later this month, further boosting the city's container handling capacity and key to its global shipping center ambition.

The latest phase will add 2.1 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) of annual capacity and handle 730,000 units of auto roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) annually, the city's port operator said yesterday. Extending 1,538 meters of coastline, the phase, with an estimated total investment of 4.79 billion yuan (US$726 million), adds three container berths and two ro-ro docks for ships carrying wheeled cargo such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks and trailers to berth.

The completion of the phase will boost Shanghai's bid to become a global shipping hub by 2020 after the State Council, China's Cabinet, last year drafted guidelines for the city to initiate innovative shipping services.

Shanghai's container throughput grew 8.1 percent year on year to 2.35 million TEUs in October, ahead of Singapore's 2.31 million TEUs, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said. The city remained the world's busiest port for the third month after it overtook Singapore in August.

The Waigaoqiao Port accounts for more than half of the city's container throughput.