SUN Hung Kai Properties says rents for its air freight-forwarding centre at Hong Kong's new airport will be low enough to quieten calls from freight forwarders for a separate centre.
The Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding Agents (HAFFA), with nearly 300 members, has threatened to build its own freight-forwarding complex away from the airport site because of fears that high construction costs at the airport will mean high fees later.
The Provisional Airport Authority on Thursday awarded the contract to finance, operate and develop a $1.9 billion airport freight-forwarding centre to a consortium led by Sun Hung Kai.
Before submitting its proposal to the authority, Sun Hung Kai held numerous meetings with HAFFA members so that the centre would meet most of their requirements and rental demands.
Sun Hung Kai Properties business development manager Paul Tsim said: 'There has to be a compromise between what they want to pay and what we want to charge.
'We have not started marketing yet, but the numbers have been indicated . . . I haven't heard anything negative.' HAFFA vice-chairman Sam Chung said his organisation would meet Sun Hung Kai to discuss the project, then members would decide among themselves by early next year whether to build a separate freight-forwarding centre off the airport site or not.
