FRIN
PRODUCTIVITY, HE SAID, WAS BROADLY BASED ON A NUMBER OF
FACTORS:
(A) THE NUMBER. TONNAGE AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION
OF SHIPS ON THE HONG KONG REGISTER,
(B)
(c)
THE NUMBER OF SHIPS ENTERING AND CLEARING THE PORT OF HONG KONG, AND
THE AMOUNT OF CARGO HANDLED THROUGH THE PORT, INCLUDING PUBLIC CARGO HANDLING FACILITIES,
THE NUMBER OF SHIPS REGISTERING IN HONG KONG BETWEEN 1980 AND 1984 INCREASED FROM 574 TO 820, AND THE IR ASSOCIATED GROSS REGISTERED TONNAGE GREW FROM LITTLE UNDER TWO MILLION TONS TO 6.4 MILLION TONS, AND THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION HAD CORRESPONDINGLY WIDENED.
+AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, PROFESSIONAL STAFF DEALING WITH SURVEY AND RELATED MATTERS HAS INCREASED BY ONLY SEVEN TO 34 OFFICERS, HE SAID.
THE NUMBER OF SHIPS ENTERING AND CLEARING PORT HAD RISEN
SIMILARLY, THE AMOUNT OF CARGO FROM 110 800 TO 167 700 IN 1984. HANDLED INCREASED FROM 33 MILLION TONS IN 1980 TO 47.5 MILLION TONS IN 1984.
DURING THE PERIOD IN QUESTION THE NUMBER OF PROFESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATED WITH PORT ACTIVITIES INCREASED BY 12 TO 56 OFFICERS.
+ IN THESE TERMS PRODUCTIVITY HAS BEEN MAXIMISED, WHILE STANDARDS OF SAFETY AND PORT EFFICIENCY HAVE BEEN MAINTAINED, + THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
THE NET RESULT OF THE INCREASED PORT CHARGES, IT WAS ESTIMATED, WOULD ADD ABOUT U.S. 21 CENTS TO THE COST OF SHIPPING A STANDARD 20 FOOT CONTAINER ACROSS THE PACIFIC. SHIPPING CHARGES FOR THIS SERVICE VARIED, BUT WERE GENERALLY BETWEEN US$1 000 AND US$2 000, HE SAID.
THE NEW INCREASES HAD VERY LIMITED ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS, AND HONG KONG WOULD CONTINUE TO BE AMONG THE LESS EXPENSIVE PORTS IN THE REGION, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
/EXAMPLES OF