PORT DEVELOPMENT
Outward cargo will comprise mainly manufactured articles (35 per cent), petroleum products (18 per cent), primary materials (12 per cent) and machinery and transport equipment (nine per cent).
The board estimates that the number of fully containerised ships calling at Hong Kong will increase from 8 390 in 1990 to 21 000 by 2006. The number of conventional general cargo ships will remain constant.
From these figures the PDB has concluded that by 2011 the new port will need 17 additional container berths each with a quay length of 320 metres; about 9 600 metres of cargo working seafrontage; some 300 hectares of land for backup areas at container terminals and about 4 000 hectares of buoy and anchorage area to support port operations. The board has also concluded that the new port infrastructure must include ship repair facilities to service the growing fleet of ocean-going vessels calling at Hong Kong. Besides servicing these ships such repair facilities will ensure that the port can recover quickly from a major maritime accident or from storm damage.
Ship repairing is among the oldest industries in Hong Kong, and like the port itself, has suffered from a scarcity of waterfront land, particularly land with good deep-water access.
The PDB recommends planning a dockyard industry supporting a minimum of eight floating or dry docks (supported by alongside berths or finger piers) by the mid-1990s with flexibility to increase the number of docks to at least 10 by 2006.
From its early days Hong Kong has been a buoyage port with most cargoes handled over the sides of ships into or out of lighters moored alongside vessels. Even with the growth of containerisation the port still handles much of its cargo in this way. Lighters carry containers to and from ships anchored mid-stream
In 1991, 23 million tonnes of cargo was handled like this of which 44 per cent was containerised. The year under review saw a 62 per cent increase in mid-stream container handling to a total of 2.5 million TEUS.
The Port Development Board has plenty of work ahead as it finalises more detailed plans for port expansion. To help it plan for special needs in the port it originally had three committees, the Ship Repair Facilities Committee, the River Trade Cargo Activities Committee and the Mid-Stream Operations Committee.
In June and July 1991 board members endorsed the setting up of the Port Land and Transport Committee and the Container Handling Committee. A Working Group was established in March 1992 to examine appropriate institutional arrangements for future port development.
The Port Land and Transport Committee advises the government on land required to support port cargo handling facilities. This includes land for ancillary port operations and transport systems required to ensure smooth movement of cargo to and from the port.
The Container Handling Committee provides data, analyses and advice to the govern- ment on container handling facilities. It examines world-wide containerisation trends, Hong Kong's position in the Asia Pacific Region and the increased potential for container- isation in China.
Through the work of its various committees the Port Development Board will continue to act as a bridge between the government's strategic planning proposals and the commercial necessities of a successful port.
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