Nantong is preparing to build a new deepwater channel to handle 100,000-ton bulk cargo vessels in one of the city’s important harbor districts, Lyusi Port.

Work on the first phase of the project started on March 8 and is expected to take 14 and a half years to compete. The deepwater channel is designed for to berth 50,000-ton bulk cargo vessels.

The whole 56.63-kilometer project will cost nearly 1.45 billion yuan ($231.86 million). The project will be completed in several steps and will be separated into different phases to reach the final 100,000-ton goal.

When complete, the 100,000-ton channel will be the first of its kind in the city, said Mao Zhengping, deputy director of the port authority.

He said that the channel could be upgraded to serve larger ships, which would lower transport costs. A total of 578 million yuan could be saved by 2020, he said.

Zhang Jian, an entrepreneur and educationist who was also known as the “founding father of modern Nantong”, founded a shipping company and invested in building harbors in the city in the early 20th century.

He later developed other facilities at Nantong Port. The port has seen a boom in shipping, with 220 million tons of cargo shipments handled last year, a 7.4 percent increase compared with that of 2013, according to official data.

The port now covers several harbor districts including Tiansheng district.

The city government has worked to improve navigation conditions in Nantong Port, particularly increasing channel depth to handle larger ships.

The port authority surveyed Lyusi Port to check if it was suitable for a large deepwater channel and last year the project received approval from the provincial development and reform commission.

The 100,000-ton channel will help boost development of the coastal area in the city. A cluster of port industries are expected to be attracted to the area around the port.

Industry insiders said that the 100,000-ton deepwater channel would become a “marine highway” for Nantong and put it in a better position to grow into an international port city.

Contact the writers at dingcongrong@chinadaily.com.cn