“Smooth Logistics” Translates into “Vibrant Industry”: Guang’an Port in Sichuan Reports Its Best First-Quarter Waterborne Transport Performance in Five Years

　　By the Jialing River, on the docks of Guang'an Port, cranes operate continuously, and ships shuttle back and forth, presenting a busy and orderly scene. As the water transport gateway closest to the Yangtze River in northeastern Sichuan, this port, which opened in 2021, has undergone more than five years of development. It has gradually transformed from a single inland river port into a multimodal transport hub connecting railways, highways, and aviation. Goods departing from here can directly reach overseas markets such as Cambodia, Japan, and Indonesia.

　　The latest statistics show that in the first quarter, Guang'an Port completed 98 container liner voyages, with a cargo throughput of 83,000 tons and 1,972 TEUs, representing year-on-year growth of 78.18%, 65.58%, and 95.63%, respectively. This marks the best first-quarter performance in water transport business over the past five years, laying a solid foundation for development throughout the year.

　　23 routes weave a dense logistics network, reducing costs and increasing efficiency for local enterprises

　　Currently, Guang'an Port has opened a total of 23 domestic and international routes, building an extensive logistics network. After departing from Guang'an Port, goods can directly reach Chongqing Guoyuan Port to transfer to larger ships for overseas shipping, connect to the Western Land-Sea New Corridor railway trains, or link with air cargo stations in Sichuan and Chongqing. This enables seamless integration of water, road, rail, and air transport, significantly improving cargo transportation efficiency.

　　A local agrochemical production company in Guang'an has deeply benefited from this. Previously, the company relied mainly on road transport to ship products to coastal areas, which incurred high freight costs. By leveraging the multimodal transport channels of Guang'an Port, the company's agrochemical products are first transported by water to Chongqing Guoyuan Port and then shipped to their destinations. According to the company's calculations, this approach saves over 80 yuan per ton in freight costs compared to traditional road transport. In the first quarter of this year, 1,500 tons of agrochemical products exported to Cambodia took only 15 days from the factory to the Cambodian port, saving nearly three days compared to the previous road-to-sea route.

　　Innovative transport models make logistics smoother

　　In the first quarter of this year, the water level of the Jialing River was relatively low, hindering ship navigation. Faced with this unfavorable situation, Guang'an Port took proactive measures, actively adjusted transport plans, optimized scheduling mechanisms, and made every effort to ensure the normalized operation of navigation on the Qujiang River, minimizing the impact of the dry season on logistics transport.

　　To address issues such as shallow water levels during the dry season and navigation restrictions caused by maintenance of the Three Gorges Dam, Guang'an Port innovatively adopted the "river-sea intermodal + port distribution" model. In restricted sections of the waterway, small boats were used for transshipment or land-based bypass transport to ensure the continuous smooth operation of transport channels. In the first quarter, Belarusian grain and oil were successfully imported using this model, while local organic fertilizers in Guang'an were exported using the "river-sea intermodal + bypass transport" model, achieving a closed-loop logistics system of "goods coming in and going out."

　　According to a relevant person in charge at Guang'an Port, compared to traditional single-mode transport, the multimodal transport model can reduce logistics costs for exported goods by about 30%, significantly improving the efficiency and reliability of enterprise supply chains. Additionally, Guang'an Port has collaborated with port and shipping companies to establish container return points, effectively reducing the distance for empty container repositioning and further lowering logistics costs for enterprises.

　　Starting strong and aiming higher, focusing on goals with renewed efforts

　　Notably, in the first quarter, Guang'an Port was successfully recognized as a national 3A-level comprehensive logistics enterprise, becoming the first enterprise in Guang'an City to receive this honor. This certification, known as the "national credit card" of the logistics industry, signifies that Guang'an Port has achieved national-level recognition in terms of professionalism, standardization, and modernization.

　　Smooth logistics is the cornerstone of industrial development. For Guang'an, the continuous upgrading of Guang'an Port not only provides a convenient channel for local enterprises to transport goods out of Sichuan and overseas but also reduces costs, accelerates processes, and improves efficiency. This injects strong momentum into the high-quality development of regional industries, transforming "logistics connectivity" into "industrial vitality" and helping Guang'an achieve greater breakthroughs in the coordinated development of Sichuan and Chongqing.

　　The stable operation in the first quarter has laid a solid foundation for development throughout the year. According to a relevant person in charge at Guang'an Port, the next step will involve deepening the multimodal transport model, optimizing route layouts, and improving transshipment efficiency. This will provide better logistics solutions for foreign trade enterprises in Sichuan and Chongqing, upgrading the hub's capacity to serve the high-quality development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the Yangtze River Economic Belt.