The International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) is a game changer for trade between China’s Western Region and ASEAN, reducing the time to transport goods between Western China and ASEAN to just one week, compared to 2-3 weeks with traditional routes. The ability to access options to move goods to market has also become more important in light of more frequent supply chain stresses in recent years.

PSA has played a notable role in the development of the flourishing ILSTC ecosystem. PSA China has operated the Beibu Gulf PSA International Container Terminal (BPCT) in Qinzhou since 2015, developing it with its partners as the gateway for Western China to ASEAN and beyond. In 2016, PSA China invested in China United International Rail Containers (CUIRC), which now manages 13 railway centres within China. CUIRC’s rail network and BPCT’s coastal port facilities are key physical nodes in the development of the ILSTC, with BPCT emerging as one of China’s fastest growing ports in recent years.

As a leading corporate participating in the Sino-Singapore Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, PSA has since partnered with many other stakeholders to develop the physical and digital connectivity of the ILSTC. PSA introduced a single maritime window for the Guangxi Province in China, based on PSA’s Portnet. This digital solution for Beibuwan’s port community including government agencies, shipping lines, shippers and truckers resulted in an estimated 75% improvement for documentation productivity. PSA also signed an agreement with German multimodal logistics company duisport in 2021 to jointly invest in multimodal logistics facilities in Asia, enhancing connectivity and trade flows between Europe and Asia. The Sino Singapore Chongqing Distribution Centre (SSDC) commenced operations in 2021, providing cargo owners in Europe and Asia with efficient multimodal, logistics and digital services through Chongqing and the CUIRC network.

With the onboarding of BDP International into our Cargo Solutions organisation, the ILSTC ecosystem is set to provide customers with options to improve the agility, resilience and sustainability of their business.

Singapore

Cargo Solutions, Port