The Ministry of Communications will draft a comprehensive plan
for port layout planning in addition to specific projects to
maintain development of Hong Kong's ports, a senior official
said.
"The ministry will continue to support Hong Kong's port
enterprises' efforts to invest in, and build ports on the
mainland," deputy minister of communications Weng Mengyong
said.
"Meanwhile, the ministry will support mainland shipping
enterprises' efforts to make full use of Hong Kong's ports'
advantages and open container transport routes between the mainland
and Hong Kong (from where container cargo would be shipped
abroad)," he was quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.
Weng said that after many years of development, Hong Kong ports
have obvious advantages in port service, financial settlement and
customs clearance, which is important to the SAR's
competitiveness.
He suggested that Hong Kong should maintain these advantages and
try to lower the costs of transporting and distributing
containers.
Currently, the port cluster in the Pearl River Delta area is
among the areas handling the greatest container transport volume in
China.
The area contains the Hong Kong port, Shenzhen port and
Guangzhou port.
It is estimated that by 2010, the mainland ports in the delta
would handle 40 million TEU of containers, while Hong Kong port
would handle 30 million TEU of containers.
Weng said accommodating such a large volume of container
transportation in one area would require a clear division of
functions among ports within the cluster.
Each port in the delta features respective advantages and they
all complement one another, he said.
China has developed five coastal port clusters, respectively
located in the Bohai Rim, the Yangtze River Delta, the southeastern
coast, the Pearl River Delta and the southwestern coast.
According to a national plan for coastal ports, these port
clusters have different functions and serve the economic
development of various hinterlands.
(China Daily June 30, 2007)