A Shenzhen government plan to invest heavily in container terminals and airport expansion may create over capacity in cargo handling facilities in the Pearl River Delta, say analysts and industry figures.
They were reacting to Shenzhen's announcement of a 30 billion yuan (about HK$28.3 billion) plan to upgrade sea ports and the city's airport through a second runway and third passenger terminal.
Under China's 10th Five-Year Plan, 15.65 billion yuan would be spent between 2001 and 2005 to increase cargo handling capacity by 36.2 million tonnes, said Zhou Tianlin, director of the Shenzhen Municipal Ports Bureau.
Ten berths would be built at the three major ports, Yantian, Shekou and Chiwan in that period, double the current capacity of Shenzhen ports, Mr Zhou said. 'Some of the facilities are under construction. But most of the projects will stretch to the 11th Five-Year Plan,' he added.
However, Michael Chan, head of transport and logistics research at Bank of China International Research, pointed to likely over capacity in Pearl River Delta cargo-handling facilities. He said there should be better co-ordination among Shenzhen, Guangzhou and the SAR governments.
Mr Chan said the Shenzhen authorities should develop 'software' aimed at improving logistics operations. 'If talking about investing in hardware, I think it should map out a plan of developing a well-rounded transportation system including highways and railroads,' he said.