Cargo Business Newswire

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Hong Kong port operators push government for land to up capacity

Hong Kong port operators are urging the government to consolidate approximately 172 acres of land adjacent to the port to help ease congestion and increase capacity in light of shipping line alliances that will serve to stress a port that is already stretched to its limit.

Jessie Chung Wai-yin, chairman of the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association, said terminals are under increasing pressure as shipping alliances expand.

"If we don't react quickly enough, the liners will leave for other ports," she said.

Bottlenecks and delays at the Hong Kong port are commonplace because it doesn't have the land to boost its operations. Shipping lines are worried about charges increasing due to demurrage.

Barges that carry containers to and from the Pearl River Delta for ships are facing two days of delay on average. A port terminal executive said sometimes barges waited for up to four days before berthing during peak seasons.

The current major proposed shipping alliances - G6, P3 and CKYHE - account for 70 per cent of capacity on global trade routes. P3 is expected to get U.S. regulatory approval by the end of the month.

The terminal association asked the government for the use of land near Terminals 8 and 9 for container storage and to build more barge berths. This would up the port's capacity by 3 to 4 million TEUs per year, almost a fifth of total handlings at the port last year, Chung said.

For more of the South China Morning Post story: scmp.com