What China is doing to make ports ‘smart’ and not prone to work stoppages

A unit of state-owned China Merchants Group is pushing a range of automation and digital technologies to make ports smarter

Reading Time:2 minutes

Cargo containers stacked at the Yantian terminal in the Port of Shenzhen. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:00am, 10 Nov 2024Updated: 12:44pm, 10 Nov 2024

China Merchants Group (CMG), the mainland’s leading public port services operator, is pushing a range of automation and digital technologies in its global network, in a major revamp that is expected to cut costs and raise efficiency at these sites.

The state-owned conglomerate’s unit, China Merchants Port Holdings, has already initiated these upgrades to its network, starting with operations at the Port of Shenzhen – ranked among the world’s busiest container terminals.

On the western coastline of the southern tech hub, CMG’s port unit has turned Mawan, a terminal that used to handle break bulk cargo of grains and sandstone, into a showcase that features remote-controlled quay cranes, autonomous-driving container trucks and a digitally managed flow of goods.

Operating the quay cranes and rubber-tyred gantry cranes used to be the most complicated part for workers at the Mawan terminal, according to She Zhenwu, director of overseas business development at CMG’s port unit.

“Now they can operate it all remotely, while sitting in a cosy control room,” She told reporters at a briefing on Thursday in Shenzhen.

A bird’s-eye view of Mawan terminal, part of the vast Port of Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province. Photo: SCMP

CMG’s upgraded Mawan operation is the latest example of China’s ambition to quickly modernise its vast infrastructure and traditional industries using the latest technologies, including 5G, digital-automation systems and artificial intelligence (AI).