ENG-2006 — Page 327

Transport 271

The dockyard is responsible for the procurement and maintenance of all vessels for the Government. Nine new small craft, costing $1.8 million, were built for the Government during the year. Ten contracts for new boats, worth $276 million, were awarded to shipbuilders in Hong Kong and overseas.

Marine Facilities

The Civil Engineering and Development Department is responsible for the planning, design and construction of public marine facilities including piers, beacons, offshore helipads, breakwaters, seawalls, navigation channels and anchorage areas. In 2006, the department completed the construction of a new pier and boardwalk at Stanley and the reconstruction of the public piers at Sha Tau Kok, Wong Shek and Ko Lau Wan.

Hong Kong is one of the busiest ports in the world and the department plays an important role in upkeeping the port. As the maintenance authority for all civil engineering marine works, the department carries out maintenance work on ferry piers and other public and government marine facilities, as well as maintenance dredging of the harbour and some major river channels. The public and government marine facilities currently maintained by the department include 506 hectares of typhoon shelters, eight kilometres of quay at public cargo working areas, 120 kilometres of seawalls and breakwaters, 310 piers and public landing steps, 96 dolphins (mooring structures), 14 100 hectares of fairways and 3 590 hectares of anchorage areas.

International Transport and Logistics Hub

Logistics is an important sector of the economy, accounting for about 5.2 per cent of Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product. Hong Kong is Asia's premier international transport and logistics hub, as well as an important gateway to Mainland China. It is also the world's busiest international air cargo centre and one of the world's busiest container ports. These achievements are attributed to the operators of the services and facilities the investors as well as the efficient workforce. The success is also due to the constructive partnership and cooperation between the private and public sectors.

Efficient, reliable and well-connected, Hong Kong's airport and port are vital to the territory's logistics industry. The airport handles an average of more than 68 000 tonnes of cargo every week and, with its dual runways, has ample capacity for handling greater anticipated demand.

Hong Kong is also home to the most productive and efficient container terminals and to the biggest private terminal operator in the world. A comprehensive network of container line services connects the port of Hong Kong with over 500 destinations across the globe. The nine container terminals at Kwai Chung-Tsing Yi provide a total handling capacity of more than 18 million TEUs.

Further measures were taken during the year to strengthen the air transport infrastructure. The Government's Economic Development and Labour Bureau