Guangdong province needs more sea ports to support rapid economic development in the Pearl River delta, despite concerns over excess container-handling capacity in the region, according to a local official.
The province's Economic and Trade Commission director, Liu Fucai, said Hong Kong's port would not be able to handle surging cargo flow from the South China region.
'You may be unhappy when I say more ports should be built in Guangdong province, but I think they are what we need,' Mr Liu told Hong Kong companies yesterday at a lunch organised by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.
'In the long run, the capacity of the existing facilities in Hong Kong is not enough.'
New terminals should be built in Nansha and Dongguan to support the manufacturing industry.
'We'll develop the port and you [Hong Kong companies] are welcome to take a large chunk of shares in it,' Mr Liu said.