South Korea plans to invest close to KRW 42bn ($35.2bn) on its ports sector, under plans revealed on Thursday.
A key part of the plan is to transform the southern port of Busan into one capable of handling ships of up to 25,000-teu, reported the Yonhap News Agency.
“We will make Busan Port the world’s third largest port by 2040,” Moon Seong-hyeok, minister of oceans and fisheries, told reporters.
Busan Port was the sixth largest port in the world last year handling 21.6mteu, behind Shanghai, Singapore, Ningbo, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it plans to inject just over KRW 16 trillion for the project while hoping to attract the remainder from the private sector.
There are also plans to create a new port in the southern resort island of Jeju that can accommodate up to four 220,000-ton cruise ships simultaneously.
South Korea hopes to make Jeju – one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations – a leading cruise ship stopover in Asia.
Earlier this year Cosco revealed that it was working on a new 25,000-teu boxship design at its Shanghai Ship And Shipping Research Institute (SSSRI).
Meanwhile early last month Samsung Heavy Industries delivered what it described as the “world’s largest” containership.
The 23,756-teu MSC Gulsun (built 20019) is the first of six sister ships being built for Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
