Guangzhou Port Automation Upgrade Clears Acceptance Review Under "Transport Power" Initiative

Recently, the Ministry of Transport officially issued the Acceptance Review Findings on the First Batch of Special Pilot Projects for "Port Function Optimization and Upgrading" under the Transport Power Initiative. The pilot project titled "Whole-process Automation Upgrade of the Loading and Unloading System at Nansha Grain and General Cargo Terminal of Guangzhou Port," undertaken by Guangzhou Port Group, successfully passed the review. As the only project in Guangdong Province selected for this batch, the acceptance marks a major breakthrough for Guangzhou in the field of smart port development.

Guangzhou Port Nansha Grain and General Cargo Terminal

Focusing on the entire grain loading and unloading process and built around two core pillars — "single-machine automation" and "multi-machine coordination" — the project has fully completed the localized automation transformation of loading and unloading equipment across all berths, successfully transitioning from traditional operations to fully automated workflows. As the largest specialized bulk grain terminal with whole-process intelligent upgrading in China, it provides a replicable and scalable "Guangzhou model" for the intelligent transformation of ports worldwide.
During construction, the project adopted an integrated solution comprising three components: automation upgrade of bulk grain loading and unloading equipment; an unmanned inspection and operation system for substations; and a whole-process intelligent management system for terminal operations. The solution covers front-end loading and unloading equipment, back-end power infrastructure, and the operations management system, forming a complete intelligent operations chain. Upon completion of the acceptance review, the project has yielded 3 invention patents, 8 utility model patents, and 1 registered software copyright, with 3 academic papers published, representing significant innovation achievements. The annual handling capacity of the project's berths has also increased from 4 million tons to 4.5 million tons.
The successful completion of this pilot not only demonstrates Guangzhou Port's leading capabilities in smart port development, but also offers a valuable Chinese model for the automation and intelligent transformation of bulk cargo terminals worldwide.
(Text by Fu Yan and Zhu Yushu)