HK's acting CE says port in fine shape despite volume drop for past 16 months
HONG Kong's Acting Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor could have been seen to be unaware of the plight of the city's port in her keynote address at a government-organised logistics and maritime conference in Hong Kong the day after the release of the latest dismal port throughput figures.
"Hong Kong is doing remarkably well. Logistics and trading represent 24 per cent of total GDP. Hong Kong Port is consistently among the world's busiest container ports in terms of throughput. The port remains one of the busiest in the world," Mrs Lam told delegates gathered for the annual Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference organised by Hong Kong's Trade Development Council.
Hong Kong Port Development Council statistics released on Monday show that October throughput volumes at the port fell for the 16th consecutive month to 1.59 million TEU, a 12.8 per cent fall over October 2014. Volumes in September declined 6.7 per cent year over year.
On a year-to-date basis, Hong Kong has suffered a cumulative decline of 8.7 percent to just over 17 million TEU, with the terminals at Kwai Tsing accounting for 13.1 million TEU of the total throughput and the river trade and mid-stream operations accounting for the remainder, the IHS Media reported.
Mrs Lam said the government was in the process of setting up a new maritime body to deal with research and development for the maritime sector as well as assist with manpower issues and policy support.
One of the issues that Hong Kong terminal operators face is the rule that prevents mainland truck drivers from driving over the border into Hong Kong. Current regulations state only Hong Kong drivers are allowed to drive trucks in Hong Kong, even if the mainland driver is qualified to drive in the special administrative region. As a result, when trucks loaded with containers reach the border, the driver has to be switched to a Hong Kong driver.
Another major issue is the lack of back-up land in the container yards at Kwai Tsing, a problem identified in a government-commissioned port masterplan 12 years ago. The government recently released a proposal to integrate 15 hectares (37 acres) of adjacent back-up real estate to build out new yard space and barge berthing facilities.
Hong Kong's market share of direct exports has been steadily eroded by the terminals across the border in Shenzhen. The last time positive growth in volume was recorded was in June of 2014.
Hong Kong is currently the world's fourth-busiest container port but may be surpassed by Ningbo-Zhoushan this year, which expects its TEU throughput to hit 22 million. If throughput volumes continue to drop, and volumes at Busan continue to rise, it will also be surpassed in the global ranking by the South Korea port within a few years.
"People always think Hong Kong is marginalised by Shenzhen. But there are still opportunities for Hong Kong. It used to be a gateway port, now it is more a transshipment port. But we need more support from the Hong Kong government," group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings, Eric Ip, told delegates at the same conference.
HONG Kong's Acting Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor could have been seen to be unaware of the plight of the city's port in her keynote address at a government-organised logistics and maritime conference in Hong Kong the day after the release of the latest dismal port throughput figures.
"Hong Kong is doing remarkably well. Logistics and trading represent 24 per cent of total GDP. Hong Kong Port is consistently among the world's busiest container ports in terms of throughput. The port remains one of the busiest in the world," Mrs Lam told delegates gathered for the annual Asian Logistics and Maritime Conference organised by Hong Kong's Trade Development Council.
Hong Kong Port Development Council statistics released on Monday show that October throughput volumes at the port fell for the 16th consecutive month to 1.59 million TEU, a 12.8 per cent fall over October 2014. Volumes in September declined 6.7 per cent year over year.
On a year-to-date basis, Hong Kong has suffered a cumulative decline of 8.7 percent to just over 17 million TEU, with the terminals at Kwai Tsing accounting for 13.1 million TEU of the total throughput and the river trade and mid-stream operations accounting for the remainder, the IHS Media reported.
Mrs Lam said the government was in the process of setting up a new maritime body to deal with research and development for the maritime sector as well as assist with manpower issues and policy support.
One of the issues that Hong Kong terminal operators face is the rule that prevents mainland truck drivers from driving over the border into Hong Kong. Current regulations state only Hong Kong drivers are allowed to drive trucks in Hong Kong, even if the mainland driver is qualified to drive in the special administrative region. As a result, when trucks loaded with containers reach the border, the driver has to be switched to a Hong Kong driver.
Another major issue is the lack of back-up land in the container yards at Kwai Tsing, a problem identified in a government-commissioned port masterplan 12 years ago. The government recently released a proposal to integrate 15 hectares (37 acres) of adjacent back-up real estate to build out new yard space and barge berthing facilities.
Hong Kong's market share of direct exports has been steadily eroded by the terminals across the border in Shenzhen. The last time positive growth in volume was recorded was in June of 2014.
Hong Kong is currently the world's fourth-busiest container port but may be surpassed by Ningbo-Zhoushan this year, which expects its TEU throughput to hit 22 million. If throughput volumes continue to drop, and volumes at Busan continue to rise, it will also be surpassed in the global ranking by the South Korea port within a few years.
"People always think Hong Kong is marginalised by Shenzhen. But there are still opportunities for Hong Kong. It used to be a gateway port, now it is more a transshipment port. But we need more support from the Hong Kong government," group managing director of Hutchison Port Holdings, Eric Ip, told delegates at the same conference.