XN000022-1987-09-15 — Page 2

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1987

MORE CONTAINER TERMINALS PLANNED BY GOVERNMENT

PLANNING FOR ADDITIONAL TERMINALS HAS BECOME AN ONGOING EXERCISE FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO COPE WITH INCREASING DEMAND FOR CONTAINER SERVICES, THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, MR PIERS JACOBS, SAID TODAY (TUESDAY).

SPEAKING AT THE 15TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF MODERN TERMINALS LTD(MTL), MR JACOBS SAID THE GOVERNMENT WAS ALREADY CONSIDERING WHERE TERMINALS 8 AND 9 SHOULD BEST BE LOCATED, WHILE TERMINAL 6, ON TOP OF THE FIVE CURRENTLY IN OPERATION, WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

"AND TERMINAL 7, WHICH WILL EXHAUST THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER PORT, WILL BE OFFERED FOR TENDER IN A MATTER OF WERKS, HE SAID, ADDING THAT THE GRANT SHOULD BE CONCLUDED IN APRIL 1988.

**

"WE NEED TO KEEP PACE WITH OUR REGIONAL COMPETITORS AND MUST REMAIN COMPETITIVE," MR JACOBS ADDED.

MR JACOBS SAID IT WAS NOT ONLY DOMESTIC CARGO THAT MADE DEMANDS ON HONG KONG'S CONTAINER PORT THE WORLD'S SECOND BUSIEST AFTER ROTTERDAM BUT ALSO TRANSHIPMENT.

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— —

EUROPE, HONG KONG

"AS ROTTERDAM IS THE TRANSHIPMENT PORT FOR HAS BECOME THE TRANSHIPMENT PORT FOR THE REGION AND FOR SOUTH CHINA IN PARTICULAR, HE SAID.

"THE TRANSHIPMENT BUSINESS REPRESENTS ABOUT 25 PER CENT OF

THROUGHPUT.

...

OUR

THE INCREASING DEMAND IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, PARTICULARLY SINCE 1985, REFLECTED BOTH THE RESURGENCE OF DOMESTIC TRADE AND TRADE WITH CHINA, MR JACOBS NOTED.

"I

RECOUNTING THE 'UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH" IN HONG KONG AND IN THE PORT DURING THE LAST 15 YEARS HE SAID:

"IN 1972, 7,900 OCEAN-GOING

SHIPS ENTERED PORT; LAST YEAR THERE WERE OVER 14,000.

"IN 1972, 16 MILLION TONS OF CARGO MOVED THROUGH THE PORT; LAST YEAR IT WAS OVER 62 MILLION TONS. IN 1972 MTL HANDLED 18,000 CONTAINERS; LAST YEAR THE FIGURE WAS 897,000."

MR JACOBS ESTIMATED THAT MORE THAN A MILLION

MILLION CONTAINERS WOULD

BE HANDLED THIS YEAR.

MRS ANSON

ACCOMPANIED BY THE SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC SERVICES, CHAN, MR JACOBS ALSO LOOKED AT THE FACILITIES OF MTL IN THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER TERMINAL THIS AFTERNOON.

/HE WAS ..