Airport agreement will reroute Chinese freight

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Airport agreement will reroute Chinese freight

Beginning late this month, Chinese trucks carrying freight to be shipped abroad from Qingdao can cross the Yellow Sea on a ferry and drive directly to Incheon International Airport before unloading.
The Korean Transportation Ministry announced yesterday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Qingdao introducing a road feeder service. Qingdao is one of the industrialized cities with international ports along the east coast of China.
By allowing Chinese trucks to come directly to the bonded area of Incheon International Airport, the airport can attract more freight from China, said the ministry. Sending freight through Incheon instead of the Chinese airports of Shanghai or Beijing, when shipping to New York for example, saves four to six hours of delivery time and $1,200 for every five tons, according to the ministry.
Freight goes through customs when leaving Qingdao and before the trucks cross the Yellow Sea. A ferry can carry up to 60 trucks. When the ferry arrives in Korea, the trucks go through a simple customs process at Incheon Harbor before they drive directly to the airport and unload the freight to planes.
“Qingdao’s industry is coming alive but the transportation infrastructure from there to Shanghai or Beijing is very weak,” said Ahn Byoung-min, a researcher at the Korea Transportation Institute. The airport expects that this agreement will increase freight volume by 5,000 to 10,000 tons annually in the early phases, and a potential 60,000 tons annually later.


By Wohn Dong-hee Staff Writer [wohn@joongang.co.kr]
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