The New Coastal District of Tianjin (NCD) is located in the juncture of the Beijing-Tianjin City Belt and the Circum-Bohai City Belt. It is the gateway to North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China. Lying in the center of Northeast Asia, it is the nearest point of departure of the Eurasian Continental Bridge. Tianjin Port, which is located in the NCD is the designated port for goods in transit to the Republic of Mongolia according to an agreement between China and Mongolia and used by other inland countries like Kazakhstan. Besides, the NCD is the best access to the world for North China and Northwest China as well as the best access to the markets in the middle and the west of China for foreign investors.

Having a well-established sea-air-land transportation system, the NCD is an important hub which serves the Circum-Bohai Region, radiates into the North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China, and faces Northeast Asia. Tianjin Port, one of the world¡¯s top 10 deepwater ports, is an important sea hub for the middle and the west of China. Tianjin Binhai International Airport is an important arterial airport and airfreight center in the north. The three expressways and two class-one highways newly constructed and expanded will shape the grand passages for Tianjin Port, and the three newly constructed railways which go into the port will also be of great significance for the port.

In terms of sea transportation, Tianjin Port has now become a bridge for North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China to carry out domestic and international trades and economic cooperation after it was upgraded with huge investment. Cargos that Tianjin Port handles for North China and Northwest China account for more than 60% of its handling capacity. In the first six months of this year, Tianjin Port finished handling 119 million tons of cargos and 2.2654 million TEU, respectively 22% and 24.3% more compared to the same periods of last year. Having established long-term navigation and business relations with more than 300 ports of over 170 countries and regions of the world, Tianjin Port is an important sea hub for the middle and west of China. It is expected that, by 2010, the area of the port will be expanded from 30 square kilometers to 100 square kilometers, and that the handling capacity will go up to 300 million tons and the container transport capacity over 10 million TEU.

In terms of civil air transportation, Tianjin Binhai International Airport will be expanded to 120,000 square meters, including a 100,000-square-meter terminal and relevant supporting projects. The runway will be extended to 3,600 meters long before 2010. Construction of the 60,000-square-meter supporting projects will start within this year, if possible. Meanwhile, more international and domestic air routes will be opened to improve the passenger and freight transport capacities. The integrated development of Beijing and Tianjin airports will be promoted and an airfreight center for the north of China established. Tianjin urban metro system, Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail Traffic System, and the second and third lines of Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway will be gradually linked to Tianjin Binhai International Airport. The passenger handling capacity is expected to be up to 10 million person-times and the cargo/mail handling capacity, 500,000 tons by 2010.

In terms of highway transportation, The NCD now has 12 arterial highways, including 2 arterial national highways, 3 national highways, and 7 municipal-level arterial highways from Tianjin city proper to the NCD, totaling 410 kilometers long within the NCD. Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway links Beijing, Tianjin proper, and the NCD, and it is only 90 minutes¡¯ ride from the NCD to Beijing. Now construction of Tianjin part of Line 2 of Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway has started, and is expected to come into use in 2008. The three national highways of Beijing-Guangzhou Line 112 (Jintong and Jinyu Highways) and the Shandong-Guangzhou Expressway which is now under construction all go through the NCD. Moreover, the highway network which links Tianjin to North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China also links the NCD to the vast hinterland of China.

In terms of railway transportation, as part of its plan to get itself through to its neighboring railway hubs, Tianjin will construct a railway passage which links Tianjin Port directly to West China. Construction of Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail Traffic System started on July 4. After the construction is completed in 2007, it is expected that it will take half an hour to finish the journey from Beijing to Tianjin, and 40 minutes from Beijing to the NCD. Line 2 of Ji-Gang Railway (from Ji Xian County to Tianjin Port) and Huang-Wan Railway (from Huanghua to Tianjin Wanjia Dock) will be constructed to link Da-Qin Railway (from Datong to Qin Huangdao) and Shuo-Huang Railway (from Shuozhou to Huanghua). The southeast ring railway will be improved and the capacity of Beitang West Marshalling Station enhanced to form the strategic passages for the unclogging railways of Tianjin Port.

As one of the regions of the fastest growth in the north of China, the NCD is fueling rapid economic growth depending upon the advantages of a favorable geographical position and a more and more developed transportation network. The flows of people, cargo, and capital into and out of the NCD are also on the increase. We believe that the NCD will cluster more industries for a better and faster economic growth of Tianjin with a further improvement of the existing transportation facilities.