Tycoon Li Ka-shing, whose business empire spans a string of Chinese imports, including Hong Kong's, has poured cold water on government plans to develop a 10th container terminal.
The Hutchison Whampoa chairman said those who assumed that expanding the port and building a cross-border bridge would boost the city's cargo business were guilty of 'wishful thinking'.
Reiterating comments made in past years, Hong Kong's richest man predicted Shenzhen would overtake Hong Kong within four years as the world's third-busiest cargo port.
'Other ports are growing fast, and their terminals are continuously being developed,' Mr Li said at a meeting announcing Hutchinson's annual results.
By cargo tonnage, or the total weight of goods loaded at a port, Shanghai ranked first, with 560 million tonnes in 2007, followed by Singapore with 483.4 million tonnes. Measured by 20ft equivalent units (TEUs) of container throughput, Singapore is the world's largest, with about 28 million, and Shanghai second, with more than 26 million.
Hong Kong handled 245.4 million tonnes of cargo and 24 million TEUs last year. The government is eyeing southwestern Tsing Yi as a possible site to build Container Terminal 10. It cites forecasts container throughput will continue to increase. A spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said a new berth would be needed by as early as 2015.
