Gyeonggi Province has announced that SITC, the 4th largest container shipper in China and the 39th largest container shipper in the world, will be launching a transportation service to Southeast Asia at Pyeongtaek Port on September 4, 2008.

The launch of the service is particularly meaningful in that it is the first direct transportation service between Pyeongtaek Port and the Southeast Asian region. SITC is based in Shanghai, China, and operates a Korean branch in Seoul and offices in Busan, Incheon, and Gwangyang. It has operated container ship services from Pyeongtaek to Qingdao and Shidao in China since June of 2007, and it expects to increase its traffic volume to 20,000 TEU annually by operating a weekly service connecting Pyeongtaek, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hai Phong, Xiamen, Incheon, and Pyeongtaek.

The launch of the service will enable Pyeongtaek Port to grow from a feeder port to the base port in the Yellow Sea Rim area. Businesses that need to respond to the current hikes in global oil prices and inland logistics costs will continue to turn to Pyeongtaek Port as a replacement option.

Kang Rae-cheon, Chief of the Transportation and Construction Department of Gyeonggi Province said, “The launch of the Southeast Asian route coupled with the service at Chinese ports will result in a rapid growth of container transportation volume in the Southeast Asian region. We plan to host a briefing session on Pyeongtaek Port for businesses in Xiamen, China, in September 2008, with the aim of creating new transportation demand.”