An event marking the regular operation of the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport in Yongzhou and an industrial investment promotion and signing ceremony were held on May 8, 2023. Nineteen projects with a total investment of 12 billion CNY were contracted. Meanwhile, 25 TEUs of canned mandarin oranges produced by a Hunan fruit product company started off from the Yongzhou Land Port towards the United States via the international freight route of the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport service. 

Hunan in recent years has opened five international freight routes to boost regional economic development and build an inland hub of reform and opening up. Yongzhou City has grasped the opportunity of the capacity expansion of Hunan-Guangxi railway in Yongzhou area and constructed the Yongzhou North Freight Yard with a handling capacity of five million tons. Beginning operation on April 25, 2022, the fright yard has dovetailed with the China-Europe freight express; the Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport routes linking Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other regions around the world; and, the three major international logistics channels including the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor southwestwards to ASEAN countries. With this freight yard, Yongzhou's annual railway freight volume surged from one million tons in the past to 2.2 million tons at present. 

In 2022, Yongzhou's total value of import and export trade increased 44.1% year on year to 41.51 billion CNY, with the growth rate and total volume ranking first among the B-class cities provincewide. More than 60% of the goods were exported to ASEAN countries, Hong Kong SAR, and the United States via the rail-sea intermodal, rail-rail combined, and cross-border road transport. So far, the China-Europe freight express, Hunan-Guangdong-Africa rail-sea intermodal transport, and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor operate in a normal manner. The Yongzhou Land Port has established a "southward, seaward, and outward" freight route.  The launching of special freight trains for the canned fruits will help further cut the transportation cost of enterprises and improve transport efficiency. In this May, 55 containers of fruit products worth about three million USD will be shipped to the United States via this freight route.

The Yongzhou Land Port has seen a good momentum of investment promotion this year. So far, 63 enterprises visited Yongzhou for business negotiation, among which 42 ones have reached intentions of cooperation.
A precooked dishes + central kitchen equipment manufacturing industrial park in Yongzhou began construction on that day, with a total investment of one billion CNY. It is scheduled to be completed and put into production within three years, and expected to realize an annual output value of one billion CNY.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn