Beijing, China, 11 Sept – Contacts made in China will make it possible for revenue at Portuguese ports to rise by between 8 and 12 percent by 2009, the Portuguese Transport Secretary said Monday in Beijing.

Speaking to Portuguese news agency Lusa, Ana Paula Vitorino noted the competitiveness of Portuguese ports and that the impact on revenue could be even greater “depending on the type of goods.”

Vitorino Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese deputy communication minister for economic cooperation between the two countries, with special focus on the marine-port sector and presided over the signing of a cooperation protocol between the ports of Sines (Portugal) and Tianjin, which serves the Beijing area.

Portuguese ports may see a three- to six-fold rise in ships and cargo to an from China by 2009, rising to a total of 7.3 million tons of containers.

The port of Sines may take delivery of over 5 million tons of containers in 2009, as compared with current levels of 500,000 tons, to and from China.

The Portuguese delegation is due to travel to Shanghai Tuesday, where it will visit the work site of Expo 2010 and meetings will be held between businesspeople. (macauhub)