The Yantai Bonded Port Area in East China's Shandong province is now a powerful engine for development of the city's marine economy, according to Yu Deping, deputy director of the area's administrative committee.

Statistics show the bonded port handled trade worth $20.2 billion last year, an increase of 48.4 percent over 2009.

After integrating former import-export processing zones and several small ports, the area now covers 7.26 square kilometers.

It is now boosting the city's marine economy through trade, shipping and hi-tech industries.

A 270-million-yuan logistics park for refrigerated goods is now under construction and scheduled to be in use by the end of next year.

The logistics park has a storage capacity of 150,000 tons, and will handle 800,000 tons of products every year.

An exhibition area to showcase global products, including wine, imported food, aquatic products and cosmetics, will soon be completed.

The container operation area has been expanded to 1.2 million square meters from the original 450,000 square meters.

The improved infrastructure is expected to bring annual throughput to 5 million containers by the end of this year.

The area is also cultivating international shipping lines through special policies for the bonded port.

The port's cargo throughput surpassed 74 million tons in the first five months, a year-on-year increase of 17.5 percent. Container throughput reached 656,000 units, a 22.6 percent increase over the same period last year.

The bonded port also plans to spend 20 billion yuan to develop a 33-square-kilometer area for finance, insurance, freight forwarding, customs and clearance, as well as high-end real estate, tourism and food services.