Yang Yan, executive vice-president of Blue River Holdings Ltd. [Photo/Wechat Account of Yangkou Port]

Hong Kong-based Blue River Holdings Ltd, founded in 1946 and formerly known as PYI Co Ltd, made its inaugural venture into port infrastructure investment in the Chinese mainland in Yangkou Port, Rudong county, Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. This was also the first round of funding the port received.

"We have always been on the lookout for investment opportunities in the Chinese mainland," said Yang Yan, executive vice-president of the world renowned construction group. "When I learned about the Yangkou Port, which was expected to be the only natural deep-water port capable of accommodating 200,000-ton vessels along the Jiangsu coastline, I rushed to conduct an inspection."

Standing on a levee and facing a vast expanse of mudflats, Yang asked Shan Xiaoming, the then-deputy Party secretary of Rudong, "Where is the port?" "It's several kilometers out at sea," Shan replied. "And where is the 30-square-kilometer industrial zone?" She asked again. Shan replied, "It's also out at sea. Once it's finished, the land use rights will be yours."

The decision to invest in the Yangkou Port was not taken easily, Yang recalled. While the group had successful joint ventures in port development in Australia and New Zealand, the prospect of investing in a project like Yangkou Port brought uncertainties.

On Dec 1, 2003, a delegation from Rudong led by Shan visited Shanghai. After seven days of intensive negotiations, the two parties finally signed an agreement for the construction of Yangkou Port's infrastructure. The registered capital for their joint venture amounted to $29.98 million.

"Considering potential risks, we made a request that seemed nearly impossible to fulfill. We asked Rudong authorities to obtain a right of use certificate for the 30-square-kilometer industrial zone from the State Council within three months," said Yang. "We didn't expect that Rudong would actually achieve it, but they did it."

With the group's investment, a series of important projects, including a cross-sea bridge, tunnel bridges, an offshore artificial island, a terminal, and an industrial zone began to take shape. Finally, on March 28, 2008, construction finished on the country's first uncovered offshore artificial island, Yangguang Island, located 13 kilometers off the coast.

"We have invested over 3 billion yuan ($408.2 million) in the port's infrastructure, and it has turned out that was the right decision," said Yang.