Shanxi opened its largest ever logistics cluster, Zhongding Logistics Park, on Nov 7 after months of construction.

The park between Taiyuan and Jinzhong, which covers an area of 320 hectares, is divided into four districts. There are 11 ports in the districts, such as a rail port, international port and agricultural byproduct port, providing various services ranging from trade and e-commerce, to finance and express delivery.

To ensure the smooth running of Zhongding Logistics Park, Taiyuan Railway Administration has cooperated with giants in the IT field, including Baidu and Tsinghua Tongfang, on developing a cloud platform which is the key component of the park's multimodal transportation system.

The platform integrates e-business, cloud storage, data exchange, transactions and finance, making logistics more efficient, distribution more convenient and lowering costs. More than 3,000 clients registered within 10 days for the test run of the platform.

Some 30 companies have signed agreements with Taiyuan Railway Administration to team up with the park. Logistics businesses like Deppon and Best, banks, and insurance companies have settled in Zhongding.

The logistics park will generate 300 billion yuan ($44.11 billion) in annual trade and bring output of 15 billion yuan to the service industry associated with logistics once its operating load rate reaches 80 percent.

In the future, a modern logistics network with Zhongding Logistics Park at its head will be established. For example, three regional comprehensive logistics parks are to be added in Datong, Yuncheng and Tangshan. Meanwhile, 300 distribution centers will cover Shanxi province, according to Hao Licheng, vice director of the freight service center in Taiyuan Railway Administration.

Workers construct canopies at Zhongding Logistics Park between Taiyuan and Jinzhong in Shanxi province, before the opening of the park on Nov 7. [Photo/sxrb.com]