XN000022-1993-11-24 — Page 14

12

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1993

CURRENT ENGINEERING OPINION SUGGESTS THAT WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COMMISSION THE FIRST BERTH AS EARLY AS IDEALLY REQUIRED.

WE WILL NEVERTHELESS,

DO ALL THAT WE CAN TO ACHIEVE THE EARLIEST 'POSSIBLE OPENING. BUT WE CANNOT BE ASSURED, AT THE PRESENT TIME, THAT THE GAP BETWEEN CT9 AT TSING YI AND CT10 AT LANTAU WILL BE AS SHORT AS SUGGESTED BY SOME MEMBERS.

THAT WE Ι WOULD NOW LIKE TO DEAL BRIEFLY WITH THE SUGGESTION CAN

FOR SHELVE CT9 AND INSTEAD EXPAND MID-STREAM OPERATION TO CATER GROWTH UNTIL CT10 OPENS. MID-STREAM OPERATION NOW HANDLES ABOUT A- THIRD OF OUR CONTAINER OPERATION. THE QUESTION: CAN IT HANDLE MORK?

MID-STREAM OPERATION IS CONSTRAINED PARTLY BY THE PHYSICAL ABILITY OF SHELTERED WATERS FOR BUOYS, FOR ANCHORAGES; AND PARTLY THE AVAILABILITY OF SUPPORTING LAND SITES.

BY

WE HAVE LESS PROBLEMS WITH PROVIDING ENOUGH SHELTERED WATER, ALTHOUGH WE MUST WATCH THAT OUR HARBOUR MUST NOT BECOME TOO CONGESTED, BUT THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT SHORTAGE OF LAND TO SUPPORT MID-STREAM OPERATIONS. DEMAND FOR WATERFRONT SITES WELL EXCEEDS SUPPLY AND THERE ARE VERY FEW POSSIBILITIES FOR REMEDYING THIS FOR YEARS TO COME. WILL CONSTRAIN THE ABILITY FOR MID-STREAM OPERATIONS TO GROW. THERE ARE SIGNS THAT THIS IS ALREADY HAPPENING. GROWTH HAS BEEN THE LOWEST SINCE 1990.

SO FAR

THIS

INDEED,

YEAR

THIS

SO, FAR FROM BEING ABLE TO EXPAND MID-STREAM CAPACITY, WE SHALL BE HARD PRESSED TO MAINTAIN IT AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE. THIS WILL MEAN THAT WE SHALL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO RELY ON THE ACQUISITION OF REPLACEMENT SITES FOR YEARS. SUCH SITES ARE RARELY IDEAL BUT WE

ᎢᎻᎪᎢ .

то SEE

IN OPERATING THEM, GREAT CARE IS TAKEN

AVOID THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES. INCONVENIENCING

WE SHALL NEED MEMBERS' SUPPORT FOR THE PROCESS OF FINDING SITES TO REPLACE CONTINUING SITES, BUT I REALLY CANNOT HOLD OUT ANY HOPE OF FINDING NEW SITES MEET GROWING DEMAND.

SHALL

=

LOST

ΤΟ

FOR

SOME HONOURABLE MEMBERS HAVE REFERRED TO CONCERNS EXPRESSED OVER THE METHOD BY WHICH WE INTEND TO GRANT THE SITE OF CT9 DEVELOPMENT. I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT THE METHOD CONCERNED

EXISTING I.E. BY PRIVATE TREATY GRANT HAS BEEN USED FOR FOUR OF OUR

TERMINALS. CONTAINER

OUR PROPOSALS FOR CT9 FOLLOW THIS FAMILIAR ROUTE. WE HAVE BRIEFED THE CHINESE SIDE AND OUTLINED ALL THE ECONOMIC DISBENEFITS OF NOT PROCEEDING EARLY WITH CT9. I WOULD LIKE TO

MR

NO POON AND MR MCGREGOR THAT WE SHALL SPARE REASSURE PRESS FOR A RESPONSE.

EFFORT

ΤΟ

CONCLUSION

FO

MR PRESIDENT, HONG KONG LIVES BY TRADE AND ITS ABILITY SERVICE THAT TRADE. 87% OF OUR CARGO GOES THROUGH THE PORT WHICH IS A ECONOMY MAJOR GENERATOR OF WEALTH, A SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR TO OUR AND A MAJOR SOURCE OF EMPLOYMENT. ITS EXPANSION SUSTAINS THE EXPANSION OF OUR ECONOMY. OUR POLICY IS TO ALLOW THE PRIVATE MATCHING EXPAND THE PORT, INCREMENTALLY, BERTH BY BERTH,

DEMAND. WITH

THIS HAS GIVEN HONG KONG THE WORLD'S BUSIEST PORT AT MINIMAL COST TO THE TAXPAYER.

то

SECTOR SUPPLY CONTAINER

/MR PRESIDENT