Ports in the mainland China province of Hebei handled a total of 332 million tons of cargo in 2006, an increase of 21.6 per cent over the previous year, Xinhua reports.

The strong growth comes after provincial authorities invested CNY6.48 billion (US$8.3 million) in port expansion and improvement projects last year that raised handling capacity.

Hebei now has 80 berths with an annual handling capacity of 305 million tons. Its three major ports of Qinhuangdao, Tangshan and Huanghua are at the centre of the eastern Hebei port cluster, the report added.