HAIKOU, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- South China's island province of Hainan has started the construction of a shore power project at the Port of Yangpu to reduce pollution by ship berthed at the port.

Contracted by the Hainan branch of the State Power Investment Corporation Limited (SIPC) with a total investment of 97.2 million yuan (about 14.5 million U.S. dollars), the project covers 15 berths at the port and has a maximum power supply capacity of 16.28 megavolt ampere.

The main part of the project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020, according to Sun Qunli, general manager of SIPC Hainan, noting that ships docking at the port will be able to use shore power directly instead of relying on their own oil-fired power generation.

The completion of the project will be able to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and suspended solids by over 95 percent, or 1,168 tonnes a year, according to Sun.