MONDAY, APRIL 28, 1980
HK BECOMES WORLD'S THIRD LARGEST CONTAINER PORT
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HONG KONG HAS OVERTAKEN KOBE OF JAPAN TO BECOME THE THIRD LARGEST CONTAINER HANDLING PORT IN THE WORLD.
ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER TERMINAL HANDLED 1.304 MILLION 20-FOOT EQUIVALENT UNITS (TEU'S) IN 1979, REPRESENTING AN INCREASE OF SIX PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S TOTAL THROUGHPUT OF 1.226 MILLION TEU'S, A DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN SAID TODAY (MONDAY).
KOBE HANDLED 1.299 MILLION TEU'S IN 1979, TO RANK FOURTH
IN THE WORLD. ITS THROUGHPUT IN 1978 WAS 1.447 TEU'S.
+THIS MEANS THAT IN TERMS OF CONTAINER THROUGHPUT, HONG KONG IS NOW NOT ONLY THE THIRD LARGEST PORT IN THE WORLD AFTER NEW YORK AND ROTTERDAM, BUT ALSO THE LARGEST IN ASIA FOLLOWED BY KOBE,+ THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
HE EXPLAINED THAT THE INCREASE IN CONTAINER TRAFFIC IN HONG KONG WAS PARTLY DUE TO THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF CONTAINERISATION AS A MODERN AND EFFICIENT METHOD OF CARGO HANDLING AND ALSO DUE TO THE FACT THAT WE HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF OCCUPYING A CENTRAL GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND BEING A CENTRE OF TRADE IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.
THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER TERMINAL HAS SIX BERTHS, WITH MORE THAN 2 300 METRES FRONTAGE AND ABOUT 85 HECTARES OF CARGO HANDLING SPACE WHICH INCLUDED CONTAINER YARDS AND CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS.
THE SPOKESMAN SAID THESE BERTHS, OPERATED BY PRIVATE COMPANIES OR CONSORTIA, WERE CAPABLE OF HANDLING CONTAINER SHIPS OF ALL SIZES. TOGETHER WITH MODERN EQUIPMENT, SOPHISTICATED HANDLING METHODS AND THE USE OF COMPUTERS, HONG KONG HAS GAINED A REPUTATION FOR HAVING THE FASTEST TURNROUND TIMES IN ASIA.
+ON AVERAGE, CONTAINER SHIPS ARE HERE FOR JUST 21.5 HOURS INCLUDING STEAMING, BERTHING AND UNBERTHING TIME, HE SAID, ADDING THAT THE CHARGES ARE AMONG THE LOWEST IN THE WORLD.
+THE GOVERNMENT KEEPS THE SITUATION UNDER CONSTANT REVIEW THROUGH THE CONTAINER TERMINALS FACILITIES COMMITTEE, AND THE PRIVATE COMPANIES WHICH RUN THE TERMINAL ARE ALSO KEEPING ABREAST OF MODERN DEVELOPMENTS TO IMPROVE THE EFFICIENCY OF CONTAINER TRAFFIC, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
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