Taicang port handled 55.1 million tons of raw coal and coal products in 2015, according to the city's maritime affairs bureau. This year's amount accounted for a 34 percent increase compared to 2014.

The port became a major transshipping port for coal and coal products after the launch of China Huaneng Group's storage and transportation dock in August 2015. The dock is the largest of its kind among ports along the Yangtze River.

The first phase of the coal dock has been completed and has a designated handling capacity of 27 million tons per year. The completion of the second phase of construction will increase the capacity to 45 million tons.

Headquartered in Beijing, Huaneng is a State-run power supplier ranked 224th among Fortune Global 500 enterprises in 2015.

In November, maritime bureaus of Jiangsu and Hebei provinces unveiled shipping routes to connect coal mining and production enterprises in the northern regions of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Shanxi and Shaanxi and the Yangtze River Delta markets.

Edited by Jacob Hooson