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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, at the opening ceremony of the Global Port Research Alliance Conference on "Port and Logistics Connectivity" this morning (May 21):
Professor (Alexander) Wai, Professor (Edwin) Cheng, distinguished guests, speakers, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to be invited to address such a respectable audience this morning. Hong Kong is indeed honoured to play host to an impressive assembly of industry experts and renowned academia at the inaugural conference of the Global Port Research Alliance (GPRA). I commend PolyU for its efforts in bringing this about.
The theme of the Conference, "Port and Logistics Connectivity", is highly relevant to Hong Kong and a subject close to my heart as the Government Secretary looking after transport and logistics. Connectivity sums up what has enabled Hong Kong to achieve economic success and sustain social and economic growth over the past decades, and what will shape our city's future development as a global hub port in the region.
Port and logistics have a long history in Hong Kong, dating back to the 19th century, when Hong Kong emerged as an entreport by the turn of the century. Since then, Hong Kong has evolved into a thriving trading port not only for the region, but the world at large, being an East-West meeting point.
Against the rapid development of Mainland China into the world's factory, with south China in particular as a major manufacture centre and now the world's major consumer market, Hong Kong's container port has become among the world's busiest in handling both direct cargo and transshipment cargo. Over the past decade, our port and logistics industries have grown steadily in size and sophistication.
Of the world's top 10 container ports in terms of throughput, nine of them are in Asia and seven in China, including Hong Kong. According to the International Monetary Fund, China is forecast to grow at a rate of 6.3 per cent per annum in the next five years, the fastest growth rate among the five top economies of the world. The cargo flow arising from China's expanding international trade will continue to demand for and benefit Hong Kong's port and logistics services. Today, about 20 per cent of China's international trade is handled by Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's strategic location at the doorstep of south China, supported by world-class infrastructure and a well-established global trading network, makes it the preferred logistics hub in Asia for goods moved by sea, air or land. Of the total freight throughput handled by Hong Kong, some 70 per cent is related to south China, notably the Pearl River Delta. Along with the shift of economic focus from the West to the East, Hong Kong continues to play an important part as the region's shipping centre and logistics hub.
On the other hand, our trade with ASEAN, with a combined population of more than 600 million people and Hong Kong's second largest trading partner, is also expanding. During the past five years, such trade has grown by an impressive rate of 10.1 per cent per annum, even surpassing the annual growth rate of 9.6 per cent for trade between Hong Kong and Mainland China. We expect the strong trade figures to rise further when we complete the free trade agreement between Hong Kong and ASEAN in the not-too-distant future.
Another promising prospect comes from China's "One Belt, One Road" development vision. The "Silk Road Economic Belt" and the "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" cover vast regions of Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa. And together, they would trigger extensive development opportunities and immense potential for the participating economies, benefitting a population of some 4.4 billion.
The essence underlying "One Belt, One Road" is connectivity, to connect countries and economies and facilitate people and cargo flows through infrastructure, information, capital, trade and cultural exchanges, etc.
With Hong Kong's strong background in international trade, our wide pool of talents in financial and professional services as well as our well established and still expanding connectivity with economies in the region, Hong Kong stands ready to play a prominent role in such regional growth as a "super-connector" between China and the world.
Hong Kong offers a wide choice of multimodal transportation links that are much treasured by our industry users for their flexibility and versatility. To strengthen Hong Kong's role as the preferred logistics hub in Asia, the Government is undertaking major infrastructure projects to enhance the city's physical connectivity with Mainland China and the rest of the world.
On the land side, we are pressing ahead with the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to expand our transportation network into the western part of the Pearl River Delta Region (the PRD). This 42-kilometre mega-bridge will link up the three cities, and enable us to grasp the fast-growing trade and logistics opportunities arising in the region. The PRD is Mainland China's single largest GDP contributor and largest exporter of goods. The growth of the western part of the PRD is expected to loom large in the coming decades, and with the superlink completed, Hong Kong will benefit immensely from the resulting expansion in people and cargo flow. Let me illustrate with some examples. By the completion of the mega bridge, travelling time between Zhuhai and Hong Kong International Airport will be greatly reduced from four hours at present to 45 minutes in future, and between Zhuhai and Kwai Tsing Container Terminals from three and a half hours to just 75 minutes. This reduction in travelling time, as well as distance, will greatly enhance Hong Kong's connectivity with the hinterland in the western part of the PRD.
On the air side, Hong Kong International Airport has consistently ranked among the world's busiest passenger and cargo airports. Indeed, we are, for a number of years, the world's busiest cargo airport and we are the third busiest international passenger airport after Dubai and London's Heathrow. Every day, we have more than 1,100 flights operated by over 100 airlines, connecting our airport to about 180 destinations worldwide, including 45 destinations on the Mainland of China. From Hong Kong, one can reach all major Asian economies within four hours' flight and half of the world's population within five hours' flight, because we have Mainland China so close to Hong Kong, India, Southeast Asia, North Asia and so on.
To enhance the airport's handling capacity, the Hong Kong Airport Authority is taking forward the implementation of the three-runway system, with a target commissioning date of 2023. The future three-runway system will increase the practical maximum capacity of the airport by 60 per cent, to handle about 100 million passengers and close to 9 million tonnes of cargo per year by 2030.
On the maritime side, Hong Kong Container Port is one of the top five busiest container ports in the world. In 2014 it handled 22.2 million TEUs. There are about 350 container vessel sailings every week to around 510 destinations worldwide. Operating round-the-clock, Hong Kong Port is also one of the most efficient. The throughput per hectare at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals is as high as 63,000 TEUs per year, which is the highest throughput per hectare among the world's major ports. To provide additional capacity for port throughput, the Government is considering measures to further enhance the port's efficiency through provision of more barge berths and improved utilisation of port back-up land.
Dredging works are ongoing to deepen the depth of the Kwai Tsing Container Basin and its approach channel from 15 metres at present to 17.5 metres in future, so that the new-generation ultra-large container vessels may berth at all tides when the works are completed next year.
Modern day port and logistics development hinges on electronic connectivity as much as physical connectivity. The Government has been working closely with the Hong Kong Logistics Development Council to promote the wider use of electronic applications by logistics SMEs to enhance their competitiveness. Sponsorship programmes are launched to encourage the adoption of e-freight, which can enhance companies' cargo-handling reliability and efficiency. E-logistics has been introduced through the implementation of Road Cargo System (ROCARS) to provide a seamless system for the movement and customs clearance of road cargo. A Secure Air Freight Enclosure (SAFE) project is supported to develop a device for real-time monitoring of air cargo while carried on trucks to prevent unauthorised tampering.
Looking ahead, innovation will be a key driver to future growth. And innovation relies on human talent. To this end, the Hong Kong Government set up a HK$100 million (equivalent to US$12.8 million) Maritime and Aviation Training Fund last year. The Fund sponsors a range of incentive schemes and scholarships, to nurture new talent and facilitate professional upgrading. For example, the Government is working closely with Hong Kong Polytechnic University and other local and overseas tertiary institutions to review programme design and encourage quality and innovative research in the maritime and modern logistics fields. Our objective is to enhance Hong Kong's overall competitiveness as an international maritime centre and maritime services hub in the region.
Before I close, I would like to say a few words about the Government's efforts in promoting a green port, as part of our wider policy agenda for building a greener Hong Kong and bringing cleaner air to all. Shipping and port development would not be sustainable without corresponding measures to encourage and enforce environmental protection measures and practices.
Hong Kong will be the first port in Asia to require ocean-going vessels to switch to lower-sulphur fuel while at berth in coastal waters. The new regulation will take effect from July this year and is a major step forward in the improvement of Hong Kong's air quality and reduction of associated health risks. To help the shipping industry cope with the increased operating costs of the fuel switch during the transitional period, the Government has extended the present incentive scheme on concessionary rates in port facilities and light dues for ocean-going vessels for another 30 months until the end of March 2018. Such a scheme is itself a good manifestation of Government-industry partnership in achieving a better environment for all.
Concluding remarks
Ladies and gentlemen, what I have highlighted just now is a brief overview of a positive future for the shipping and logistics industries, and how Hong Kong is getting prepared to participate in and contribute to the phenomenal regional growth expected in the next decades.
I am sure the discussions these two days at the GPRA 2015 Conference will explore in depth various issues critical to the industries. I look forward to ideas that may assist Hong Kong in better grasping the upcoming opportunities and coping with new challenges.
On that note, I wish you all a very fruitful conference and for overseas delegates a very pleasant stay in Hong Kong.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Thursday, May 21, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:10
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