The Port of Wuhan, where the Yangtze River and its branch the Han River join, will be built into the largest freshwater shipping centre in Central China in five to 15 years.

Depending on the Yangluo Port Area, the Yangsi Port Area, the Beihu Port Area and the Jinkou Port Area, Wuhan Port will exert itself to be a huge port with annual throughput of over 100 million tonnes. The major cargo sources for the port are containers, metal ore, iron and steel, petrochemicals and vehicles.

The port, which has a 236.7 km bank-line along the Yangtze River and 112.9 km line along the Han River, will have 23 port areas as its long-term goal. Its cargo throughput will reach 100 million tonnes in 2010 and 168 million tonnes in 2020 as planned.

A diversified development mode will be pursued. For instance, the Yangluo Port Area will focus on container operation, Qingshan Port Area on petrochemicals, Jinkou Port Area on general goods, Beihu Port Area on steel products.