Qingdao, the seventh-busiest port by cargo volume in 2011, expects to see its cargo volume increase in double digits this year. The port handled 372 million metric tons of cargo in 2011. Its goal for this year is more than 400 million tons of cargo and 14.5 million TEU of containers. “We are very confident about achieving this year’s goal,” said Chang Dechuan, Chairman of Qingdao Port (Group) Co. He added that Qingdao port will lower its charges to help shipping liners weather this difficult period. Qingdao, unlike other ports, faces the problem of having relatively little capacity. With 1.3% of China’s port shoreline, it handled 6.9% of the country’s total cargo transported by sea in 2010. To expand its capacity, Qingdao port plans to invest CNY30 billion by 2015 in the 400,000-ton Dongjiakou ore terminal, which is expected to become operational later this year. In addition, the port also intends to build a 300,000-ton oil terminal and a coal terminal whose capacity “is still under discussion”, Chang said. Chinese ports handled a total cargo volume of 792 million tons in August, up 2% year-on-year – the smallest increase since the beginning of this year, according to the Ministry of Transport. In the meantime, Chinese ports’ container throughput reached 15.11 million TEU in August, up 3.9% year-on-year, according to official data.