Trucks unloading goods at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai caused traffic gridlock for two hours across Central yesterday.
Dozens of trucks - some loaded with 20-foot containers - arrived at Expo Drive at 3pm to deliver goods for exhibitions at the centre this week. They snaked all the way to Fenwick Pier, disrupting traffic in the entire area.
By 5pm, traffic on surrounding roads was at a standstill, with police reporting problems stretching 2.5 kilometres to the Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan.
Police said they had not been warned by the convention centre, exhibitors or trucking companies about the mass drop-off of goods.
A Transport Department spokesman said traffic was particularly bad in Connaught and Harcourt roads.
A fisherman complained that not only did the trucks cause traffic mayhem, they also kept their engines running, sending plumes of foul exhaust fumes into the air.
'It's lucky this was on a Saturday rather than during the week,' he said. 'This would have caused chaos during a weekday rush hour.'
