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International Transport and Logistics Hub

Logistics is an important sector of the economy, accounting for 5 per cent of Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product. Given its strategic location, world class infrastructure and business-friendly environment, Hong Kong has long established itself as a preferred transport and logistics hub in Asia. 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 investors and the efficient workforce, as well as the constructive partnership and cooperation between the private and public sectors.

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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 72 000 tonnes of cargo every week. The Airport Authority will build a new air cargo terminal to provide additional capacity to meet anticipated demand from growth.

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. Coupled with its round-the-clock operation, the nine container terminals at Kwai Chung-Tsing Yi provide a total handling capacity of more than 19 million TEUs.

Development of Hong Kong Logistics Industry

The Government is committed to maintaining and strengthening Hong Kong as Asia's preferred international transport and logistics hub.

The Government provides the necessary infrastructure and environment for Hong Kong's logistics sector to grow. It also promotes closer cooperation with the Mainland, in particular, the Pearl River Delta region to achieve synergies in logistics development.

The Hong Kong Logistics Development Council, chaired by the Secretary for Transport and Hosing, provides a forum for the private and public sectors to foster logistics development to strengthen Hong Kong's position as the leading logistics hub in Asia. Five project groups have been set up under the council to develop and implement work programmes for physical infrastructure, information connectivity, human resource development, support for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and marketing and promotion.

To enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's trucking sector and the logistics industry in general, the Government sponsored a pilot project on the development of an On-Board Trucker Information System (OBTIS). OBTIS is an information and communications technology platform, which helps enhance efficiency in fleet management and connectivity between truckers and stakeholders along the supply. chain. The first phase of the pilot was launched in 2007 to test the system's basic features on 50 trucks. A full exercise, involving 450 trucks, will be conducted in 2008.

To promote the use of information technology in logistics operations, the council and the Hong Kong Productivity Council jointly organised training programmes,