The Port of Pyeongtaek, located 85 kilometers southwest of Seoul, is rising fast as one of the major ports in Korea.
Since 2012, it has been ranked No. 1 in the number of vehicles processed after overtaking Ulsan Port in 2012. It now aims to become the largest port in the nation in all categories and is set to build the required infrastructure.
Pyeongtaek was ranked fourth last year in terms of container handling volume at 546,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) after the ports of Busan, Gwangyang, and Incheon. In the container processing volume, it caught up with Ulsan as early as in 2009.
In passenger numbers as well, it was ranked No. 3 (491,000) following Busan and Incheon last year. In terms of total cargo volume, Pyeongtaek was ranked fifth last year after Busan, Gwangyang, Ulsan, and Incheon, with 117,013,000 tons, up 7.1 percent from the previous year.
The achievement of Pyeongtaek Port that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year was largely thanks to the relentless marketing effort jointly by the Gyeonggi provincial government and the Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Port Corp. For example, they succeeded in signing a deal to open up a new freight container line between Pyeongtaek and Yantai in China's Shandong Province from July last year.
The new shipping line has posted performance of 28,233 TEU and 112,812 passengers as of the end of May this year. In February this year, the port corporation sent envoys to several port authorities and shipping companies overseas including Bremenports GmbH for possible tie-ups.
