Competitive Pearl River Delta port system and the future direction for Hong Kong port
Organizer
Lingnan University
Document Type
Inaugural Lecture
Date
10-23-2013
Time
5:30 p.m. -- 6:30 p.m.
Venue
MBG07, Patrick Lee Wan Keung Academic Building, Lingnan University
Description
Instead of building Terminal 10 in the near future, Hong Kong should re-position its port to become an international trans-shipment hub by optimising utilisation of its existing infrastructure, shipping service development and human capital, Prof Liu Liming, Chair Professor and Head of Department of Computing and Decision Sciences at Lingnan University, said in his inaugural lecture on 25 October.
Based on the results of empirical and theoretical studies jointly conducted with other colleagues, Prof Liu pointed out that Hong Kong should not compete head-on for market share with other major ports in the Pearl River Delta, such as those in Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Rather, Hong Kong should re-position itself to be primarily an international trans-shipment hub and strengthen its role as a high value-added shipping service centre. “Price competition would not deter the growth of the Shenzhen port. Expanding the capacity of the Hong Kong port by means of building a new terminal, for example, would not be effective either unless there is significant growth in the total demand from the hinterland,” he said.
He went on to examine the history of other leading ports around the world, such as New York, London and Tokyo, and concluded that increasing investment cannot counter the changing economic structure and its fundamental changes to the shipping industry. It is important to identify a port’s role in a system and opportunity for co-operation with other ports in the country or region, rather than to engage in head-on competition. It is also crucial to look beyond the horizon and re-invent itself by developing high value-added services and capitalising the network effect. “For these reasons, Hong Kong should co-ordinate with Shenzhen and Guangzhou so that each of their ports can focus on what is most suitable and profitable for them. Rationalising the use Hong Kong’s port resources is crucial to success. Hong Kong should also invest in the Pearl River system-based trans-shipment market by increasing our effective capacity for better barge service. Explore and develop the ocean-to-ocean trans-shipment market is important too,” Prof Liu said.
嶺南大學電腦及決策科學學系講座教授兼系主任劉黎明教授在其就職演講上呼籲，香港毋須於短期內興建10號貨櫃碼頭，應該重新定位為國際轉運樞紐，並將資源投放於善用現有的基礎建設、發展航運服務及培訓人才等方面。
根據劉教授與其他學者合作進行有關香港、深圳及廣州三地港口的實證與理論研究結果，劉教授指出，香港不應與珠江三角洲其他主要港口如深圳、廣州等地直接競爭，來提高市場佔有率。香港港口應重新定位為國際轉運樞紐，並加強其作為高增值航運中心的地位：「價格上的競爭不會遏止深圳港口的增長。若透過興建新貨櫃碼頭之類的措施來擴充香港港口吞吐能力，除非內陸地區的總貨運需求大增，否則成效也不會顯著。」
此外，劉教授又回顧了世界各大港口如紐約、倫敦及東京等的歷史，並認為增加投資不能阻擋經濟結構的改變，以及它對航運業所帶來的根本變革。其次，尋找港口在某個運作系統中的角色，以及港口與所屬國家或地區內其他港口的合作機會，比直接正面的競爭更為有效。第三，藉著發展高增值服務、發揮網絡效應的優勢等方法，務求突破常規、自我革新，同樣不可忽略。劉教授續稱：「基於上述原因，香港應與深圳及廣州協調，以便各個港口可專注於最適合本身條件、最具效益的業務。使香港港口資源運用更趨合理，是成功的關鍵。香港亦應投資在建基於珠江三角洲的轉運市場，提升我們的有效吞吐能力，以提供更優質的駁船運輸服務。同時，探索和發展遠洋轉運市場也十分重要。」
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Liu, L. (2013, October 23). Competitive Pearl River Delta port system and the future direction for Hong Kong port [Video podcast]. Retrieved from http://commons.ln.edu.hk/videos/4