XN000022-1995-12-23+24+25+26 — Page 6

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Hong Kong's port retains top position

Container terminal throughput figures for November indicate that Hong Kong is likely to retain its title as the world's busiest container port in 1995.

In the first 11 months of the year, the eight terminals at Kwai Chung handled 7.5 million TEUS (20-foot equivalent units). That is an increase of 14 per cent over the same period in 1994.

Official figures for the whole port, which include mid-stream handling and river trade, are available only up to the end of August, but these show that Hong Kong handled 8.1 million TEUS in the first eight months of 1995.

Using the latest figures as a base, the Port Development Board estimates that Hong Kong's throughput will total 12.6 million TEUS in 1995.

The terminals will handle 8.3 million TEUs, some three million TEUs will be handled mid-stream and river trade will account for 1.3 million TEUS.

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Hong Kong's figures for the eight months to the end of August were 346,000 TEUS more than Singapore, the world's second busiest container port, handled in the same period.

In August alone, Hong Kong handled 1.12 million TEUS. Singapore handled 1.04 million, the first time that Singapore handled one million TEUS in a month. Hong Kong passed the one million a month mark in July 1994 and handled more than one million TEUS a month from April to August 1995.

The 14 per cent increase in throughput for 1995 shows that Hong Kong is not suffering from port congestion. Port operators say that there is currently spare capacity at the Kwai Chung terminals.

Port Development Board Secretary, Mr Tony Clark, said that as growth continued this capacity was vital. "We are likely to have spare capacity to see us through 1996 and perhaps into 1997, but we will definitely need the first berth of our next terminal during 1998," he added.

Hong Kong has so far been able to handle its huge growth in throughput thanks largely to greatly increased productivity at the container terminals.