Staying ahead of the pack

Authorities say that the shipping and aviation industries in Shanghai have maintained their leading positions in the country through a series of technological upgrades

The municipal government announced on Oct 31 that the city has leveraged technology to achieve significant progress in the maritime and aviation sectors over the past year.

According to officials, Shanghai is now China’s top aviation hub. The city was ranked fourth in the world last year in terms of annual passenger volume. In addition, the amount of international passengers traveling through Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport last year accounted for 27.7 percent of the country’s total.

Meanwhile, Pudong International Airport was named third in the world in the annual cargo volume ranking. Shanghai’s two airports presently manage about half of the country’s international cargo and mail.

Jia Ruijun, vice president of Shanghai Airport Group Co Ltd, said that the ability to handle the increased volume of flights and passengers was due to an upgrade in service systems. He explained that the two airports are the first in the country to adopt the Airport Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system which helps airport staff to better manage the arrival and departure of flights.

More self-service platforms were also launched last year, making it more convenient for travelers to buy tickets, change flights and check in their luggage.

Chinese passengers holding electronic exit-entry permits for traveling to and from Hong Kong and Macao through Shanghai can also use self-service terminals that reduce waiting times to as short as 10 seconds.

Last year, the Pudong and Hongqiao airports came in fifth and 16th respectively in the Airport Service Quality Awards (ASQ) rankings, a global benchmarking program measuring passenger satisfaction.

The two airports also introduced 24 non-stop flights to 47 destinations in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. Presently, the two aviation hubs are connected to 282 cities around the world by 107 airlines.

At the 29th International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council held earlier this year, Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong said that the city is aiming to handle 45 million shipping containers and more than 180 million passengers annually by 2040.

Part of efforts to achieve this goal include the application of shore power technology, which is currently being used to construct the Yangshan Port. Fang Huaijin, vice president of Shanghai International Port Group, said that the fully automated port will have 26 semiautomated container cranes, 120 automated rail cranes and 130 automated guided vehicles.

The shore power system has already been utilized in the third phase of the port’s construction. When the fourth and final construction phase is completed early next year, Yangshan Port would be able to handle up to 6.3 million containers a year, said Fang.

Shore-based power supply systems have also been used at Shanghai’s Wusongkou International Cruise Port, which is the largest of its kind in Asia. Officials said that the port will allow four ships to dock simultaneously and be able to handle up to 1,000 vessels annually by 2018.

“The Wusongkou International Cruise Port has been operational for only six years, but the amount of outbound and inbound passengers it handles has already reached 47 and 63 percent of the national total respectively,” said Su Ping, vice governor of Baoshan district where the port is located, about the facility’s progress.

GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY Shanghai is now China’s top aviation hub and it was ranked the fourth in the world last year in terms of annual passenger volume.