WUHAN, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Construction on the second phase of an international waterway-rail transport project in central China's Wuhan, Hubei Province, began Saturday.

The project aims to serve better the regional economy and foreign trade at the city's Yangluo port in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

The second phase of the waterway-rail transport covers an area of 56.8 hectares, with a total investment of 2.2 billion yuan (about 315 million U.S. dollars).

The expansion includes a terminal area with an annual throughput of 750,000 TEUs and a railway loading area with a yearly capacity of 400,000 TEUs.

Currently, the port has a capacity of 100,000 TEUs in its waterway-rail logistic service.

After completion of the project, the combined advantage of the golden waterway and the national railway network will be brought into play, and Wuhan is expected to emerge as a leading transportation hub along the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Belt and Road, according to the Wuhan New Port Administration Committee. Enditem