Ningbo expands inland reach with new port cooperation with Anhui cities

Beilun Port Area Ningbo-Zhoushan Port. [Photo provided by Ningbo-Zhoushan Port/Yongpai App]

Ningbo announced on Feb 28 that the city had signed port cooperation agreements with Hefei and Bengbu in Anhui province, aiming to strengthen logistics links through an efficient multimodal transport system and promote mutually beneficial development between inland regions and the coastal hub.

Anhui is a key inland hinterland of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and its largest and fastest-growing cargo source outside Zhejiang. In 2025, containers transported from Anhui to the port via sea-rail intermodal services reached 270,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), accounting for 13 percent of the port's total sea-rail volume and ranking first among non-local cargo sources.

The Hefei-Ningbo-Zhoushan route is currently the port's busiest intermodal corridor outside the province. With three scheduled trains running daily, goods can reach the Ningbo port area within 18 hours, providing a fast logistics channel for Hefei's emerging "new trio" exports: electric vehicles, lithium batteries and photovoltaic products.

Cooperation with Hefei focuses on building stronger coordination mechanisms, improving port services and enhancing data connectivity to lower logistics costs for foreign trade companies. Meanwhile, Ningbo's partnership with Bengbu will deepen collaboration in rail and waterway transport, foreign trade and logistics services.

Under the new agreement, a regular sea-rail service will be launched between Ningbo and Bengbu, initially operating once a week. The new route is expected to cut export transit time from 12 days to six days, creating a faster transport channel and further strengthening Ningbo-Zhoushan Port's role as a global shipping hub.