A local port authority is considering a move to place orders with South Korean shipbuilders for the construction of several gantry cranes at a new container terminal, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Busan Port Authority is currently building seven container piers at Busan Newport to be completed by 2021, and three additional berths are being built at the port by private firms. The estimated cost is about USD893 million for the building of 10 container cranes.

The report explains that South Korean shipbuilders stopped building container and transfer cranes in 2006 when they were unable to compete with cheap Chinese products.

The price difference, however, narrowed down to less than 5% recently, a port official says, noting Chinese cranes were more than 30% cheaper than South Korean products a decade ago.

South Korean products may be more competitive when considering maintenance costs, he adds.

Some South Korean shipbuilders have expressed intentions to resume the production of gantry cranes after reorganising the manpower and equipment needed, according to the report.

It is believed local shipbuilders, which have empty order books, are being tempted to return to the crane market by Busan Newport's plans to build several more new container terminals in the coming years, and the demand for replacements for ageing container cranes at Gwangyang, Ulsan, Incheon and several other South Korean ports.

If they are successful in winning these contracts, the manufacturers will set their sights on the container crane market abroad, according to analysts.