Maroc - TAIWANTODAY.TW - Top News - 01/Jan 00:00

Taiwan ports deliver 2024 report card

Taiwan’s nine ports recorded 690 million revenue tons in cargo handled and 13.92 million twenty-foot equivalent units in container throughput in 2024, creating record revenues of NT$22.8 billion (US$692.17 million) for Taiwan International Ports Corp. Ltd., the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said Jan. 9 in a press release.   TIPC Chair Lee Hsien-yi praised the results, especially in a year of daunting challenges including a lower global economic growth rate, the Red Sea crisis and Russia-Ukraine war on the global front, as well as natural disasters with domestic impact such as October’s Typhoon Krathon and the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit the eastern county of Hualien in April.   Lee attributed the strong performance to the company’s efforts to expand its core businesses while aggressively diversifying into other areas such as offshore wind power generation, waterfront development projects and various reinvestment strategies.   The chair described Terminal 7 of Kaohsiung Port, the country’s first smart, automated terminal, as vital to 2024’s success in addition to being foundational for future trade: it can berth four 24,000-TEU container ships at the same time with an annual handling volume of 6.5 million TEUs. Other highlights included land reclamation at Taipei Port’s logistics zone, a new wharf at Anping Port and passenger terminal upgrades at Suao Port and Hualien Port.   Over the course of the year TIPC also introduced a raft of measures and artificial intelligence-based technologies to enhance power consumption management, ensure navigation safety, expedite logistics services and reduce carbon emissions, Lee added.   Lee said key TIPC development projects for 2025 include renovations of Kaohsiung Port’s Terminal 3 and Terminal 5, more land reclamation at Taipei Port and passenger clearance facility improvement at Penghu Port. He added that these efforts are expected to help increase local ports’ total cargo handling volume by 3 percent, attract one million passenger arrivals, incur NT$3.37 billion in investment and create 1,300 new jobs in the process. (SFC-E)   Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw