The expansion of deepwater terminals at Yangshan islands in Shanghai is getting into full swing, with the city’s government pledging to build world-class infrastructure and spur growth as part of its latest effort to shore up confidence in the city’s foreign trade.

Zhang Xiaohong, a Shanghai vice mayor, told the North Bund Summit, a shipping industry conference, on Friday that new port facilities under construction will gain international prominence and effectively buoy China’s trade with foreign partners.

“Construction [of terminals] at the northern side of Xiao Yangshan has gone into full swing,” he said. “When they are complete, the waterway from Yangtze River to the ocean can be better utilised to bolster Shanghai’s status as the world’s shipping hub.”

Zhang was referring to the 51.3 billion yuan (US$7 billion) harbour project that will eventually handle 11.3 million 20-foot-equivalent units (teus), nearly a quarter of Shanghai’s total container throughput last year.

Construction of the deep water port began in 2002 following China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, a watershed event that resulted in thriving trade emanating from the Yangtze River Delta around Shanghai.

Shanghai International Port Group, the state-owned operator of terminals in the city, announced last September that it would start building the new terminals the following month.