XN000022-1991-11-20 — Page 9

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1991

AN EFFECTIVE PORT IS THE KEY TO OUR CONTINUED ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THE CONTINUED ECONOMIC GROWTH OF OUR NATURAL HINTERLAND WITHIN CHINA. BOTH HONG KONG AND SOUTHERN CHINA WOULD BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED IF WE FAIL TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF OUR COMBINED TRADE.

OUR POLICY IS TO ATTEMPT TO MATCH SUPPLY AND DEMAND FOR PORT FACILITIES. IN THIS WAY, THE PRIVATE SECTOR CAN BE ENCOURAGED TO PAY FOR, CONSTRUCT AND OPERATE COSTLY NEW INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH OTHERWISE WOULD NEED TO BE FUNDED FROM THE PUBLIC PURSE. THIS POLICY HAS SUCCEEDED VERY WELL AND HAS ESTABLISHED HONG KONG AS A WORLD LEADER IN PORT SERVICES AND AS A PRINCIPAL HUB PORT FOR WORLD TRADE AND CARGO SERVICES.

DEMANDS FROM TRADE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW. OUR CONTAINER GROWTH THIS YEAR IS EXTREMELY HIGH. IT IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN STRONG WELL INTO NEXT

YEAR.

IN PLANNING TERMS THIS MEANS WE NEED то PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTAINER HANDLING CAPACITY IN THE PORT. AT PRESENT TREND LEVELS OF GROWTH WE WILL NEED THE NEXT CONTAINER TERMINAL NUMBER 8 IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS, AND THE NEXT FOLLOWING NUMBER 9 TWO YEARS LATER, DURING 1995. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT WILL TAKE PLACE ON LANTAU.

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THE RIGHT TO DEVELOP TERMINAL 8 HAS BEEN GRANTED AND WE SHALL NEED TO GRANT THE RIGHTS FOR TERMINAL 9 IN EARLY 1993. IN ORDER TO RETAIN OUR COMPETITIVE EDGE AND INDEED, ΤΟ MEET THE LEGITIMATE EXPECTATIONS OF OUR INDUSTRIES, OUR OBJECTIVE HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO BRING ON NEW PORT FACILITIES AS DEMAND REQUIRES. THIS POLICY HAS WITHSTOOD THE TEST OF TIME AND HAS ENABLED THE PORT TO MEET HONG KONG'S NEEDS. IF WE WERE TO TAKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION NOT TO MEET DEMAND, WE WOULD DRIVE BUSINESS AWAY FROM HONG KONG.

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THE QUESTION REALLY IS TWO-FOLD HAVE WE GOT OUR TIMINGS RIGHT AND WHAT ALTERNATIVE SITES ARE AVAILABLE? I SHALL SPEAK LATER ON OUR GROWTH FORECASTS AND ASSOCIATED TIMINGS. HOWEVER, I AM SATISFIED THAT THE FIRST BERTH OF CONTAINER TERMINAL 9 WILL BE REQUIRED BY MID 1995 - SOME TWO YEARS BEFORE THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING IS EXPECTED TO OPEN. PUT ANOTHER WAY, IF WE ARE TO CONTINUE TO MEET DEMAND, THEN ALTERNATIVE DEEP WATER SITES MUST BE PUT TO USE BEFORE THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING OPENS. PADS CONDUCTED A TERRITORY-WIDE SITE SEARCH AND CONFIRMED THAT THE ONLY TWO VIABLE SITES LIKELY TO BE AVAILABLE BEFORE THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING OPENED IN 1997 WERE STONECUTTERS ISLAND AND SOUTH-EAST TSING YI. THE GOVERNOR IN HIS ANNUAL POLICY ADDRESS

ΤΟ ADVISED THIS COUNCIL ON 11 OCTOBER 1989 OF THE INTENTION

LOCATE CONTAINER TERMINAL 8 ON STONECUTTERS ISLAND AND CONTAINER TERMINAL 9 ON RECLAIMED LAND OFF SOUTH-EAST TSING YI.

ACCORDING TO OUR BEST ESTIMATES, WE ANTICIPATE A DEMAND OF SOME 2.8 MILLION TEU'S OVER AND ABOVE THE CAPACITY OF KWAI CHUNG, EVEN WITH CONTAINER TERMINAL 8 FULLY OPERATIONAL, BUT BEFORE THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING CAN BE COMMISSIONED. THE QUESTION NOW IS : CAN ANY SIGNIFICANT NUMBER BE HANDLED AT SITES OTHER THAN AT TSING YI. LET ME NOW SPEAK IN MORE DETAIL ON OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS AND SITING ISSUES.

CONTAINER TERMINALS ARE CONSTRAINED BY A NUMBER OF KEY FACTORS. THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE IS WATER DEPTH TO ACCOMMODATE PRESENT DAY CONTAINER VESSELS, WE NEED A MINIMUM WATER DEPTH OF 15 METERS IN THE APPROACHES TO A TERMINAL AND ALONGSIDE ITS BERTHS.

/SUCH DEPTHS