As the overall listing commitment of Rizhao Port Group, the controlling shareholder of Rizhao Port, draws near, Rizhao Port Group is accelerating the development of its crude oil terminal and container terminal assets. On April 27, the reporter learned at Rizhao Port's 2015 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders that Rizhao Port Group's third 300,000-ton crude oil terminal (designed with a 450,000-ton hydraulic structure) officially began construction on the 26th of this month. In the future, the listed company's business structure may evolve from being “dominated by a single cargo type” into a pattern of “three pillars” comprising dry bulk, containers, and crude oil, creating room for the company to improve its profitability.
　　“Compared with bulk dry cargo, the competitive landscape for crude oil loading and unloading operations has not yet fully taken shape. The intensity of competition currently appears far lower than the white-hot competition in the port bulk dry cargo sector, which also means greater room for improvement and development potential,” said Wang Jianbo, general manager of Rizhao Port. At present, Rizhao Port Group ranks second nationwide in crude oil terminal loading and unloading capacity, with two 300,000-ton and one 100,000-ton crude oil terminals in operation. The third 300,000-ton terminal, which began construction recently, is designed with a 450,000-ton hydraulic structure, and the fourth 300,000-ton crude oil terminal is also in the preliminary approval stage. The group has also laid out matching oil pipelines, namely the already operating Rizhao Port—Yizheng, Jiangsu pipeline with an annual capacity of 38 million tons and the Rizhao Port—Dongming Petrochemical pipeline with an annual capacity of 20 million tons, as well as the planned Rizhao Port—Luoyang Petrochemical pipeline with an annual capacity of 20 million tons. Once completed, Rizhao Port Group's crude oil unloading capacity can reach 100 million tons.