BEIJING: With the rapid diversification of Hong Kong’s economy in recent years, it is often easy to forget that we owe a great deal of our rise as an economic powerhouse to the container port industry.
This was once again underlined when Hong Kong terminal operators under Hutchison Port Holdings Trust — HIT, COSCO-HIT, Asia Container Terminals — and various midstream services achieved 200 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on the heels of HIT’s 45th anniversary.
The new milestone not only puts HIT and HPH Trust at the forefront of the global container port market but also highlights the industry’s continuing economic contribution to Hong Kong and its vital role in providing a steady source of quality employment.
Despite stiff competition from other ports in the region and a marked slowdown in trade and economic growth, Hong Kong has maintained its position as the world’s fourth busiest port by throughput, outperforming other much larger ports.
We make up for our lack of size with a deeper port, which enables us to capitalise on the increasing reliance of shipping lines on mega vessels.
Besides its geographic advantage, Hong Kong also has the edge in workers, renowned for their adaptability and can-do attitude.
Their efficiency enables us to offer carriers abundant choices of sailing schedules and prompt departures.
HIT is scaling up its handling capacity with ongoing investment in state-of-the-art infrastructure.
