A batch of 650.06-metric-ton steel rebar, destined for Hong Kong, has been directly loaded onto a freighter after being transported to the container wharf at Guigang Port in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, officials from Guigang Customs announced on Feb 20.

It marked the first time that cargo has been directly loaded onto freighters after arriving at the wharf under Guigang Customs.

The new model allows cargo that has been declared in advance to pass customs clearance immediately after arriving at the wharf. If the cargo needs to be inspected, priority will be available. 

The new system is expected to help companies cut down on processes such as unloading, storing and picking up cargo at the wharf, effectively lowering the companies' costs in both time and money. 

Guigang Port, located in the middle reaches of the Xijiang shipping trunk line, is the most convenient channel for cargo in southwest China to be transported overseas, and a major hub in both the Pan-Pearl River Delta region and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. 

The port's annual cargo throughput, annual shipbuilding capability and annual cargo ship transportation capability each account for more than 50 percent of Guangxi's total. 

Guigang Port's cargo handling capacity in 2020, after a year-on-year increase of 30.9 percent, exceeded 100 million tons, making it the first inland port along the Pearl River system to exceed this number. 

Zhou Zhan, a staff member from Guigang Customs, said that the customs department will keep making innovations in supervision models to make more contributions towards increasing Guigang's cargo-handling capacity.