XN000022-1983-01-11 — Page 4

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 1983

HK TAKING STEPS TO ENSURE PREEMINENCE AS CONTAINER PORT

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HONG KONG WILL CONTINUE TO BE FIRMLY ENTRENCHED AS THE LARGEST CONTAINER PORT EAST OF SUEZ DESPITE INTENSIVE EFFORTS BY OTHER ASIAN PORTS TO CAPTURE A LARGER SHARE OF THIS IMPORTANT TRADE.

WITH MAJOR EXPANSION PLANS READY TO MEET RISING NEEDS, HONG KONG'S CONTAINER PORT IS POISED TO CAPITALISE ON ANY ÉCONOMIC RECOVERY, JUST AS IT DID ON THE PREVIOUS UPTURN FOLLOWING THE 1974-75 RECESSION.

KOBE, ACCORDING TO THE 1982 ISSUE OF THE PRESTIGIOUS CONTAINER- ISATION INTERNATIONAL YEARBOOK. LOST ITS POSITION AS THE THIRD LARGEST CONTAINER PORT IN THE WORLD TO HONG KONG IN 1980. SINCE THEN THE JAPANESE PORT HAS AT TIMES COME CLOSE TO REGAINING THIS TITLE.

IN THAT YEAR, HONG KONG'S THROUGHPUT OF 1.46 MILLION TEUS (TWENTY FOOT EQUIVALENT UNITS) WAS ONLY MARGINALLY AHEAD OF KOBE'S 1.45 MILLION TEUS.

ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION COLLATED SO FAR, HONG KONG'S TOTAL THROUGHPUT FOR 1982 IS EXPECTED TO COME CLOSE TO 1.7 MILLION TEUS DESPITE SLUGGISH INTERNATIONAL TRADE, MR T.J. FRAWLEY, SENIOR MARINE OFFICER OF THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, SAID.

ABOUT 89 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL IS BEING HANDLED AT THE THREE TERMINALS IN KWAI CHUNG AND THE BALANCE HANDLED ELSEWHERE IN HONG KONG.

THIS MEANS THAT HONG KONG WILL STAY +COMFORTABLY AHEAD OF KOBE AND MAINTAIN A STRONG LEAD OVER KAOHSIUNG AND SINGAPORE WHICH IN 1980 OVERTOOK SAN JUAN OF PEURTO RICO TO BECOME THE WORLD'S FIFTH AND SIXTH LARGEST CONTAINER PORTS RESPECTIVELY, MR FRAWLEY SAID.

ASIA'S RAPID EXPANSION IN CONTAINER FACILITIES IS POINTED CUT BY THE 1982 CONTAINERISATION INTERNATIONAL YEAR BOOK WHICH NOTES THAT OF THE TOP 10 PORTS WHICH RECORDED THE HIGHEST GAINS IN TRAFFIC, FIVE WERE IN ASIA,

IN HONG KONG, TO COPE WITH FUTURE EXPANSION, THE GOVERNMENT HAS DRAWN UP LAND RECLAMATION PLANS THAT WILL EXTEND THE EXISTING BERTHING SEA FRONT IN KWAI CHUNG FROM 2 200 METRES TO 3 200 METRES BY 1986, RAISING ITS CAPACITY BY 45 PER CENT TO 2.2 MILLION TEUS.

+THE PLANS HAVE BEEN SO DESIGNED THAT COMPLETION DATE MAY BE ADVANCED IF NECESSARY. IF AT ANY STAGE OF THE EXPANSION, AN EVER INCREASING DEMAND IS SEEN TO EXIST, THE DEVELOPMENT WORK CAN BE MODIFIED TO PROVIDE YET ANOTHER 700 METRES OF BERTHING SEA FRONT OVER THE 3 200 METRES, OR A FURTHER 22 PER CENT INCREASE IN CAPACITY, + MR FRAWLEY EXPLAINED.

/TO ENSURE