Hutchison chairman says new terminal in Hong Kong not needed

The chairman of the parent of the world's biggest terminal operator said he doesn't see a need for a 10th terminal in the Port of Hong Kong.

In a announcement of the results of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa, Chairman Li Ka-shing said the former British colony's plans to add another terminal would not allow the port to stave off competition from the neighboring Port of Shenzhen. Once the world's busiest port, Hong Kong is expected to tumble to fourth soon as its TEU growth flattens out as Shenzhen, Shanghai and Singapore all grow wildly. Hong Kong transport officials see a new container terminal as a necessity by 2015.

Port analysts see a surfeit of capacity in South China over the next five years as terminals along the Pearl River Delta in Shenzhen and Guangzhou add massive new terminals. That has increased pressure on Hong Kong, which is rightfully aiming to become the logistics hub of the region instead of the container throughput hub it was a decade ago.

Hutchison Port Holdings, the terminal operating arm of Hutchison Whampoa, became the world's biggest on the back of Hong Kong's port growth and earns 15 percent of the revenue for the group as a whole. Though it handles more containers than any other operator in 2007, Singapore's PSA International is the biggest terminal operator by equity since it owns a 20 percent stake in HPH. 

Source: American Shipper