ON December 29, Tianjin, the largest comprehensive port in northern China, announced that its annual throughput in the year 2013 had surpassed 500 million tonnes, Xinhua reports.

Tianjin port said during such a time as the world's economy is weak and the shipping market remains gloomy, it took only three years for the port to grow from 400 million tonnes in 2010 to 500 million tonnes in 2013.

Tianjin gains 500 million tonnes' throughput thanks to the continuously upgrading infrastructures, said Liu Zhongjun, an official from the Tianjin port authority.

Being the largest artificial deepwater port in the world, Tianjin has been upgrading its facilities during recent years. Its navigation channel has a depth of 21 metres and can support 300,000-tonne ships. It also has four lanes to separate large and small ships, which has enhanced turnover by 47 per cent.

As of early 2013, Tianjin's port area covers 131 square kilometres with 159 berths, of which 102 can handle vessels of 10,000 tonnes and above.

The port also set up dry port facilities at 23 hinterland cities to offer intermodal transport for shippers in these regions, and started to offer feeder services to domestics ports so as to attract more shipments.

The port is now operating a total of 119 container shipping lanes to over 500 ports in more than 180 countries and regions, as well as 15 sea-rail intermodal transport routes to the hinterland.

By 2017, Tianjin aims to expand its port area to 175 square kilometres, raise its navigation channel level to 300,000-tonnes, and increase its berths of 10,000 tonnes and over to 124. Its capacity will reach 20 million TEU in terms of containers and 600 million tonnes in terms of tonnage.