Recently, Huang Bo, Party Secretary, Chairman and General Manager of Guangzhou Port Group Company Limited, carried out a series of official activities in Turkey. He met with Hakan Cevik, CEO of Akkon Lines, and held discussions with Song Shuqing, Managing Director of COSCO SHIPPING (Turkey), Zhu Lijun, General Manager and Operations Director for the West Asia region of CULines, and Liu Peng, the Turkish-based shipowner representative of UGL. Additionally, he visited the Kumport Terminal in the Ambarli Port Complex in Istanbul and engaged in discussions with Zhao Changren, Chief Executive Officer, and Wu Zhonghua, Chief Financial Officer.

 

When the delegation visited Akkon Lines, CEO Hakan Cevik expressed his deep gratitude for the strong support provided by Guangzhou Port Group in handling an emergency situation in this August. He noted that the Nansha Port area of Guangzhou Port is critical to Akkon Lines' FE service route connecting the Far East and Turkey.

 

According to Huang Bo, Akkon Lines has experienced rapid growth in the Nansha Port area over the past two years, with effective communication between the two parties. He expressed hope that Akkon Lines would further increase its resource investment in Nansha. Guangzhou Port Group is willing to strengthen cooperation with Akkon Lines in such fields as sea-rail transport, barge transshipment and freight forwarding to achieve win-win development.

 

During the in-depth discussions with the shipping companies, COSCO SHIPPING (Turkey), CULines and UGL emphasized that Turkey, with its strategic location spanning both Europe and Asia, was a key country in their global operations. They noted that Turkey's market has seen significant growth in cargo volumes in recent years, with substantial potential for further growth in the future.

 

Huang Bo explained that the Eastern Mediterranean market, particularly Turkey, has been the fastest-growing export region for the Nansha Port area over the past two years. Guangzhou Port Group places great importance on import and export business in this region and hopes to strengthen cooperation with the shipping companies to continually enhance the routes and cargo volumes between Nansha and this market.

 

During the visit, Huang Bo and his delegation conducted an inspection and exchange at Kumport Terminal. Located within the Ambarli Port cluster on the northwest coast of the Sea of Marmara, Kumport Terminal is the third largest container terminal in Turkey, with a throughput of 1.209 million TEUs in 2023. Huang Bo conducted an on-site assessment of the terminal's layout, facilities and equipment, and engaged in discussions with Zhao Changren, Chief Executive Officer of Kumport, and Wu Zhonghua, Chief Financial Officer.

 

Feng Hongde, Assistant General Manager of Guangzhou Port Group, Sun Bangcheng, Business Director of Guangzhou Port Co., Ltd., Johan Nanninga, the Group's representative in Europe, as well as heads of relevant departments and units, participated in these activities.

(Text by Wang Shaling, Picture by Chen Jiepeng)