Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa yesterday called for the co-ordination of port facilities in southern China before deciding the way forward for additional berths in Hong Kong. Speaking during a media gathering on Pan Pearl River Delta co-operation, Mr Tung said co-ordination with the central government and Guangdong was needed to optimise the provision and use of port facilities in the region. He said co-ordination should also take into account the development of other cargo transport modes in the region, such as rail, river and roads. 'From the perspective of the central government, I agree with the minister [responsible for transport] Zhang Chunxian that we need to take a collective look at the ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta to better co-ordinate [their operations],' he said. Mr Tung said a feasibility study for Container Terminal 10 was still being carried out and was expected to be completed by the end of the year. However, he said there was room for more ports as there were not enough berths in the region to cope with the strong increase in demand for cargo transport. 'With Pan Pearl River Delta co-operation, I believe that most of the cargo from the region - except Fujian, which uses its Xiamen port - will continue to come to Shenzhen and Hong Kong,' Mr Tung said. He said the development priorities for the region were road, rail and port and he expected co-operation to proceed quickly. The first official meeting on co-operation is expected next month. 'We must take the chance to participate in the Pan Pearl River Delta co-operation or Hong Kong will face the danger of being marginalised in an increasingly globalising world, in which the trend is for regional development,' he said. Mr Tung's view was echoed by the chairman of the Greater Pearl River Delta Business Council, Victor Fung Kwok-king, who said the success of the pan-delta concept would be critical to the development of not just Hong Kong, but also the region and the nation because long-term international competition would be between economic regions, not states. Speaking after a council meeting yesterday, Mr Fung said the region, which has a population of 450 million, would offer great potential if internal barriers between the provinces were torn down. He hoped that in time it would become a common market similar to the European Community, predecessor of the European Union.
