20 February, 2001 (Tuesday)

Hong Kong has maintained its position as the world's busiest container port in 2000 with the total container throughput reaching 18.1 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units), the Secretary for Economic Services, Ms Sandra Lee, said at the Terminal Operations Conference (TOC) Asia 2001 today (20 February).

Ms Lee said the performance represented a growth of 11.7 per cent in container throughput over 1999, making Hong Kong the world's busiest container port once again.

TOC Asia 2001 has moved to Hong Kong after two years in the Middle East because the organiser of the conference thinks that Hong Kong, being the busiest container port in the world, is a fitting location for this year's high level debate on the forces shaping global terminal operations in the 21st century.

Ms Lee said in order to ensure that the economic infrastructure and port facilities in Hong Kong met the needs of the industry, the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board (PMB) carried out major reviews of the Port Cargo Forecasts (PCF) once every two to three years to ensure that these forecasts, which covered a span of 20 years ahead, were as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

"Hong Kong already has similar agreements on shipping with our major trading partners, such as the U.S. and Mainland China. The latest addition is the U.K. which signed the agreement last week," Ms Lee said.

"Hong Kong already has similar agreements on shipping with our major trading partners, such as the U.S. and Mainland China. The latest addition is the U.K. which signed the agreement last week," Ms Lee said.

"We have just completed an update of the Port Cargo Forecasts. Findings of the PCF reveal that the total throughput for Hong Kong over the last five years has sustained an annual growth of 6.6 per cent," Ms Lee said.

"The cargo demand for the Hong Kong container port in the next 15 years will grow at an annual rate of 5 per cent, which is faster than the forecast of 4.6 per cent in our previous study in 1997.

"The cargo pie for the Pearl River Delta is expected to continue to grow at a high rate fuelled by an expected general increase in world trade and increase in foreign direct investment through China's accession to the WTO, leading to increased imports to and exports from China, especially for the Guangdong province.

"Hong Kong is expected to benefit from the continuing growth in Southern China as the main source of cargo for Hong Kong comes from the Pearl River Delta," she said.

Ms Lee noted that although the development and expansion of the Northern Mainland ports and increasing competition from the Shenzhen ports would divert some of the cargoes that might otherwise flow through the port of Hong Kong, the PCF study concluded that cargo from Southern China would grow sufficiently fast to support the planned expansion of ports in the region, including Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

"The throughput of Hong Kong port is expected to grow from the base figure of 18 million TEUs to 30 million TEUs in 2010 and 40 million TEUs in 2020," Ms Lee added.

"Similar agreements are under discussion with about 20 other tax administrations, including Germany, Greece, Australia and Denmark."

To cope with the expected growth in demand in the coming decade, Hong Kong is now building a new Container Terminal 9 (CT9).

This terminal will add six berths or almost 2000 metres of quay length to the existing 18-berth Kwai Chung port. The total area of the CT9 project is 150 hectares. The terminal itself will occupy 70 hectares and the remainder will be used for port back up, logistics and other adjacent port facilities. It has its own bridge connection to the north of Tsing Yi and will have a second bridge connection to CT8 in the south.

The six-berth Container Terminal 9, with additional handling capacity of at least 2.6 million TEUs a year, will come into operation in 2002 and be fully operational in 2004. This project also includes dredging of the entire Kwai Chung port to 15.5 metres to accommodate the largest container vessels on the drawing board.

Ms Lee also said the PMB was undertaking an exercise to update the Port Development Strategy Review in the light of the findings of the new PCF. The review will translate the PCF findings into demand for cargo handling facilities to cope with the situation after Container Terminal 9 has reached its capacity.

"We will complete the review by mid-2001. Based on the findings of the review, a Port Facilities Development Strategy will be formulated for the years ahead," Ms Lee continued.

"To ensure that the port can function effectively, we are committed to enhancing inter-modal links to the port. A study is being conducted to examine the feasibility of a Container Port Rail Line to support the long-haul freight transport need between Hong Kong and our hinterland."

Ms Lee pointed out that Hong Kong, apart from being a busy port, was also Asia's leading and most dynamic air cargo hub.

"In the twelve month period ending January 2001, the Hong Kong International Airport served 32.6 million passengers and handled some 2.22 million tonnes of cargo, representing a growth of 11.6 per cent and 10.8 per cent respectively over the corresponding period one year earlier. Hong Kong has developed excellent air links with the rest of the world and is the centre of international and regional aviation," Ms Lee said.

"Like the port, our airport has benefited greatly from the rapid growth in the Pearl River Delta hinterland region. We will continue to implement a liberal air services policy and to provide the best services expected of a world-class airport in partnership with the Airport Authority.

"To provide inter-modal cargo handling at the airport, the Airport Authority has awarded a tender for the development of a marine cargo terminal. This terminal will help to reduce the time and cost needed for the transfer of air cargo between the Hong Kong airport and the Pearl River Delta. To promote the development of the logistics industry, the Airport Authority has also invited tenders for the operation of a logistics centre on the Airport Island.

"The Hong Kong International Airport can handle up to 45 million passengers and 3 million tonnes of cargo annually and will be able to handle up to 87 million passengers and 9 million tonnes of cargo upon full development. To map out the development strategy for the airport, the Strategic Overview of Major Airport Development Study is being undertaken. It is also scheduled for completion in mid-2001," Ms Lee added.

Ms Lee told the conference delegates that the SAR Government is committed to providing a favourable business environment and the necessary infrastructure to facilitate the development of Hong Kong as a transportation and logistics hub. Foreign businesses wanting to tap the business opportunities in the transportation and logistics sector following China's accession to the WTO will increase their chances of success in their ventures if they do so in partnership with Hong Kong operators who have accumulated substantial market knowledge and interest in the Mainland.

The TOC Asia 2001 is organised by the Informa Group and supported by the PMB. With the theme of "Managing Growth with Intelligence: the Quest for Profitable Capacity", the three-day conference will focus on the forces shaping global terminal operations in the 21st century, and the new skills and equipment required for the terminal industry in order to plan ahead for future port and terminal development projects.

Meanwhile, the PMB is supporting another conference on logistics to help Hong Kong's transportation and logistics sectors to get prepared for the business opportunities arising from China's imminent accession to the WTO.

This two-day conference, "China's Accession to WTO: Implications for Asia Pacific's Transportation and Logistics Business - Is it an Opportunity or a Threat?", is organised by the Informa Group and commenced yesterday. Topics covered in the conference include the transportation and logistics opportunities in post-WTO Hong Kong and China; the supply chain management in China and Hong Kong; and the integration of inter-modal interchange and logistics centres.