A liquefied natural gas project is located at the Yangkou Port in the Tongzhou Bay. [Photo/China Daily]

East China's coastal city of Nantong is accelerating the development of its Tongzhou Bay, in a bid to make it a deep-water channel that can facilitate greater trade.

The city is also exploring increasing cooperation with neighboring Suzhou Port and Shanghai Port, said Ji Hongjun, assistant general manager of Nantong Port Group Construction Investment.

At the end of June, construction will begin on a container terminal at Lyusi Port located at Tongzhou Bay, and in the second half of this year, construction will begin on multiple access channels and passageways, Ji said. Lyusi Port is home to four 1,368-meter-long berths capable of accommodating vessels with tonnages of up to 100,000.

The port can handle 7.1 million metric tons of bulk cargo per year.

At present, stability assessments of the project and permission for the safe usage of the shoreline in navigable waters have been completed.

The project is expected to obtain approval for its shoreline development application by the end of May, according to Ji.

The Tongzhou Bay project will build two ore berths with the capability to accommodate 100,000-ton vessels and one to deal with one 50,000-ton vessels. Construction is expected to cost 2.6 billion yuan ($366.01 million).

The company will start project construction by the end of November after carrying out preparatory work such as surveys and design for navigation, sea use, and environmental impact, Ji said.

To build a connection between the operating areas of the Tongzhou Bay and the Yangtze River, realizing seamless transport between the river and the sea, the local government has invested in building a specialized 90-kilometer-long railway to help traffic.

According to a city plan, the first phase covering 24.5 km and costing 2.95 billion yuan is set to complete soon.

The railway line is constructed in accordance with the National IV standard with a designed speed of 80 km/h. A major part of the project includes the construction of a new port station, special and main railway lines, and connection stations.