Following is a question by the Hon Sunny Tan and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Liu Chun-san, in the Legislative Council today (July 3):
Question:
In the 2024-2025 Budget, the Government has stated that the Airport Authority Hong Kong is taking forward the development of a sea‑air intermodal cargo‑transhipment mode in collaboration with Dongguan, and will actively expand air cargo services, including the handling of cold chain cargo at the "HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park" (Logistics Park). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of airlines and freight forwarders participating in the Logistics Park pilot scheme since its launch in April last year, and the freight volume and total value of goods handled by the Logistics Park so far;
(2) whether it will seek to expand the Logistics Park, both in scale and size, for the additional provision of better and more diversified logistics facilities and strengthening its logistics support services, including logistics facilities related to cold chain goods, temperature-controlled, high-value goods and goods with relatively short life cycles, and assist the admission of more Hong Kong enterprises into the Logistics Park, so as to further strengthen Hong Kong's positioning and competitiveness as a maritime hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; and
(3) of the future plans and measures to proactively encourage different industries to actively dovetail with and seize the opportunities of the Logistics Park, including the use of relevant logistics facilities to develop cross-border e-commerce and import and export businesses?
Reply:
President,
Hong Kong is an international aviation hub. With regard to air cargo, Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is the world's busiest cargo airport. The Government and the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) have been adopting various measures to consolidate Hong Kong's leading position in respect of air cargo.
In this regard, to fully capitalise on HKIA's advantages in handling high-value, temperature-controlled air cargo and to seize the opportunities brought by cross-border e-commerce, the AAHK is taking forward the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode in collaboration with Dongguan. Under this mode, export cargo from the Mainland can go through security screening, palletisation and cargo acceptance in advance in the upstream logistics park set up in Dongguan. It will then be transported seamlessly by sea to the cargo pier on the airside of HKIA for direct transshipment to overseas destinations through Hong Kong's international aviation network. International air cargo may also be imported into the Mainland through the reverse process. This mode will provide a more seamless and convenient international air network for the cargo in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), improve the efficiency of cross-border air cargo transshipment, and further leverage Hong Kong's function as an air cargo transshipment hub.
With regard to the question raised by the Hon Sunny Tan, my reply is as follows:
(1) The AAHK has launched a pilot scheme of the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode by utilising the temporary facilities in Dongguan and HKIA since end 2021 and established the full set of export and import operation procedures in April and December 2023 respectively. Currently, a total of 17 airlines and about 100 freight forwarders are participating in the pilot scheme. Since April 2023, nearly 8 300 tonnes of cargo, with a value of more than $5.8 billion, have been handled under the pilot scheme.
(2) and (3) The AAHK and the Dongguan Municipal Government signed a co-operation framework agreement in February 2023 to foster the further development of the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode, including the development of the permanent facility of HKIA Logistics Park in Dongguan (now named as "HKIA Dongguan Logistics Park"). The AAHK plans to complete the first-phase construction of the permanent facility of the logistics park by the end of next year, gradually bringing its cargo handling capacity to one million tonnes per annum.
In order to maximise the benefits of the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode, the AAHK is working with the Dongguan Municipal Government to explore the feasibility of handling different types of cargo in the logistics park, including the development of cold-chain cargo services. At the same time, the AAHK will continue to promote the sea-air intermodal cargo transshipment mode and adopt measures to encourage more airlines and freight forwarders to join. Depending on the progress of the first-phase construction of the logistics park, the AAHK will proceed with the further development of the whole project in an orderly manner, with a view to continuously enhancing the overall handling capacity and functions of the logistics park to meet the international cargo demand in the GBA and enhance Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub.
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