BEIJING, March 8 -- Inland ports along the Yangtze River will offer projects worth a total of eight billion yuan (1.03 billion U.S. dollars) to woo domestic and foreign investors at a conference next month, an organizer said yesterday.

    The Yangtze Business Network 2007, scheduled to be held on April 12 in Shanghai, will be the first such event to lure investors to develop terminals long the so-called "Golden Waterway," which stretches 6,300 kilometers through seven provinces and the municipalities of Shanghai and Chongqing.

    Shipping giants including Maersk Line and CMA-CGM are expected to attend the event, said Zhang Tingting, China consultant for Alain Charles Publishing, the organizer.

    Port authorities along the river will promote the projects in cities such as Wuhan, Tongling, Jingjiang and Yibin at the event, she said.

    The conference will also be followed by site tour to some ports upstream.

    The Wuhan port at the middle of the Yangtze River said it will woo investments for its second phases of the Hengyang container terminal and Yangluo terminal at the event. The projects are estimated to be worth 1.4 billion yuan.

    The ports of Tongling, Jiangjiang and Yibin will also market their bulk and container terminal projects worth a total of 5.4 billion yuan.

    China plans to boost shipping along the Yangtze River as a way to develop its western hinterland.

    The Ministry of Communications said last year it plans to invest 15 billion yuan in the next five years to dredge the waterway, revamp the trunk lines and supportive facilities along the Yangtze River.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)