PORT DEVELOPMENT
From recognition of this need came the Port Development Board (PDB), established in April 1990. It is not a port authority, but it advises the government on all aspects of port development and links government and private sector involvement in the process.
To do this, the board brings together key players from the private sector and the government to determine and promote solutions to problems. It acts as a focal point for ideas and opinions expressed by port operators and for anyone affected by port expansion. One of the board's main tasks is to determine what port facilities will be needed in the future and to advise on the best means of ensuring that those facilities. are in place, on time.
Current Strategic Planning
While detailed planning and design proceeded for the first phase of Lantau Port, expansion continued at the present port at Kwai Chung. The four-berth Container Terminal Eight (CT8), on reclaimed land at Stonecutters Island, came into full operation early in 1995.
The completion of CT8, and significant investments in upgraded equipment and systems in the existing terminals, enabled Hong Kong to handle the growth in throughput in 1995. Nevertheless, at present rates of growth of demand for such facilities, it is expected that the Kwai Chung terminals will be operating at full capacity by the fourth quarter of 1996.
After the completion in mid-1995 of a PDB review of the container-handling capacity for existing terminals, it was confirmed that the first berth of Container Terminal Nine (CT9) on Tsing Yi Island was ideally required by September 1996. However, the continuing lack of China's endorsement of the grant of the develop- ment rights has delayed the start of work on this.
The delay to CT9 highlighted the need to complete the planning of Container Terminals 10 and 11 (CT10 and CT11), to be built at Lantau Port, and detailed design work has now been completed. Environmental considerations have played an important role in this planning. Terminals will be oriented to minimise visual and noise impact, while safety and operational efficiency are optimised.
With the continuing growth in cargo throughput, shippers are seeking additional means of transporting goods to and from China. They are increasingly using the natural highway of the Pearl River and there has been a substantial increase in container barge traffic on the river.
The PDB has forecast that by 2001 some 49 million tonnes of freight will be carried by river, rising to some 85 million tonnes in 2011. About 24 per cent of river cargoes were containerised in 1994. By 1995, this had reached some 27 per cent and it is forecast to reach 41 per cent by 2011.
River cargo-handling facilities, now mainly public cargo-working areas, are expected to reach capacity by 1996. To cope with the growing demand thereafter, plans have been finalised for the development by the private sector of Hong Kong's first River Trade Terminal (RTT) specifically designed to handle river cargoes. It is proposed to build this near Tuen Mun in the North-West New Territories. This would allow most river vessels to avoid the busy Ma Wan Channel and to keep clear of the ocean-going vessels using Kwai Chung and the new Lantau Port. The first phase of the RTT is planned to begin operations by late 1997. The development was
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