The port at Caofeidian, which serves the city of Tangshan, Hebei province is set to become an important economic partner of the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin in the future, by using its resource advantages, a district leader has reported.

The port does have immense potential in serving a burgeoning market that covers Beijing, Tianjin and surrounding Hebei province. And the three governments have a cooperative port development project over the next three years to promote the economy of northern China. The two bigger cities have clear advantages in talent, financing, and technology, but face challenges in limited land for development, which gives the neighboring port a good opportunity to attract more business to help the local economy, according to Yang Jie, chief executive of Caofeidian district in Tangshan.

The amount of land and services such as electricity, gas, and preferential tax policies in Tangshan will provide a further inducement, Yang noted, adding that they have already handled a number of projects with Beijing, including exclusive zones for companies from Zhongguancun, the high-tech center in the capital.

Rapid expansion of the land deals with the two major cities will guarantee growth at Caofeidian and is expected to eventually to give it an annual throughput of 500 million tons, making it one of the largest ports in the world, in just a few years. Ii is also welcoming emerging industries, in addition to its traditional ones, such as coal and steel.

The port has had 39 berths since the end of 2005, after a pilot run, and saw faster growth than other Chinese ports, with a cargo throughput of 195 million tons, in 2012. Since the regional development started in 2003, the amount of projects with investment over 100 million yuan ($16.3 million) has reached 352, with total spending exceeding 561 billion yuan.