IN the first 11 months of the year, the Chinese port of Zhongshan handled a total of 1.02 million TEU.

Zhongshan's container throughput volumes were said to have got off to a weak start during the first half of 2006, but recovered in the later stages of the year with its growth rate peaking at 38.7 per cent in September, Xinhua reports.

The port is expected to handle 1.1 million TEU of boxes for the year as a whole.

The port of Zhongshan is the third largest container port in Guangdong province and tenth largest in China. However, the report warned that its relatively small handling capacity compared to the rival port of Guangzhou will jeopardise its future growth.