Taizhou port at dusk. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Taizhou government recently released a guideline on how to boost its sea transport capacity, in an attempt to slash production costs for local manufacturing enterprises.

According to the document, which is valid from 2019 to 2021, the city aims to handle 700,000 containers by 2021, an increase of 186 percent over the number recorded in 2019.

Over that period, a total of 5.92 million tons of goods, which were previously transported by road, will be shipped by sea, saving more than 166.2 million yuan ($24.8 billion) in logistics costs.

Despite being a coastal city with excellent water transportation conditions, far more goods in Taizhou are shipped by road than sea, which takes longer but costs less.

In a bid to boost its sea transport capacity, the local government will establish a special fund of 30 million yuan to encourage local enterprises to choose ships rather than trucks, said the document.

It will also ramp up efforts to build Taizhou port into an international trade port. It plans to increase shipping routes and build a comprehensive transport system integrating sea, road and rail.

The guideline also stated that Taizhou will promote the digitalization of ports so as to facilitate customs clearing and optimize services.