BEIJING, Aug 9: China plans to invest $1.8 billion to expand its fleet of oil tankers, the official Xinhua news agency said in a report seen on Saturday.

Zhang Shouguo, an official of the Communications Ministry’s Water Transport Department, said on Friday experts had suggested China should have enough oil tankers to transport 50 per cent of its oil imports.

He did not say how many oil tankers would be built or over how many years.

China imported about 1.4 million barrels of oil each day in 2002.

More than 90 per cent of China’s oil imports are transported by ship, of which 90 per cent are ferried by foreign tankers, Xinhua said.

The ministry has set up a task force to discuss the planned expansion, which would secure the safety of China’s oil imports, Zhang said. The plan would also stimulate related industries, including shipbuilding and steel, he added.—Reuters