AP MOLLER-MAERSK Group and Xiamen Port (Group) have announced the official opening of their joint Xiamen Songyu Phase I Container Terminal at Songyu Port.

The Songyu Container Terminal is expected to "substantially strengthen the growing foreign trade in southeast China," a Maersk statement said.

"This terminal will attract the largest ships, ensuring that the foreign trade of Xiamen, Fujian province, and neighbouring provinces will have first-class access to global markets," said Tom Behrens-Sorensen, chairman of AP Moller-Maersk Group in China.

This opening is said to further cement the long-term partnership between AP Moller-Maersk Group and the city of Xiamen. Songyu Phase I was jointly developed by Maersk subsidiary, APM Terminals, and the Xiamen Port Group. Both companies hold a 50 per cent stake in the terminal.

The Songyu Phase I Terminal is uniquely positioned at the south eastern tip of Haicang district in Xiamen at the intersection of the two sea lanes leading to the city, making it the closest terminal at the port with access to the high seas.

The terminal has three 17-metre deepwater berths along 1,246 metres of quays and a land area of 353,000 square metres, enabling it to receive calls from the sixth-generation mega-ships.