Hong Kong container terminal operator HPH Trust implements 5G technology to speed up digitalisation, automation
- HPH Trust will incorporate 5G into its terminals’ development as it aspires to become a smart port, CEO Ivor Chow said
- The company will launch a new project to establish a surveillance system on quay cranes to monitor berth traffic and operations on vessels next quarter
Container terminals operated by Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPH Trust) became the first in Hong Kong to implement 5G technology to enable digitalisation and automation of its operations, the company said on Sunday.
The Li Ka-shing-backed HPH Trust worked with local telecommunications operator 3 HK to install five 5G base stations across its container terminals in the city.
“Looking ahead, we will incorporate 5G into the terminals’ development in our aspiration to become a smart port – including utilising emerging technologies like AI, IoT, blockchain and machine learning, starting with autonomous driving in the container yard to workplace video analytics to enhance safety and operational efficiency,” said Ivor Chow, CEO of HPH Trust.
The 5G technology has already powered two pilot projects initiated by Hutchison Port, which included the ports’ remote control of rubber-tyred gantry cranes and an AI-powered security system to detect intrusions, all of which was launched late last year.
In the second quarter of this year the company will launch its third project to establish a surveillance system on quay cranes to monitor berth traffic and operations on vessels, according to HPH Trust.
These projects, supported by funding from Hong Kong’s Office of the Communications Authority’s subsidy scheme which encourages early deployment of 5G, are aimed at cutting costs, improving accuracy and efficiency of port operations.
With the new moves, HPH Trust has joined a wave of digital transformation sweeping traditional industries including ports.
The Hong Kong government has also been promoting the adoption of 5G with the launch of a dedicated subsidy scheme in 2020. Under the scheme, the government will subsidise 50 per cent of the actual costs of 5G deployment in authorised projects, with a cap of HK$500,000 (US$63,700).
Singapore’s PSA may sell Hutchison Ports stake to China’s state firms
HPH Trust, which operates deep-water container terminals in Hong Kong and Shenzhen as well as the Pearl River Delta, is affiliated with Hutchison Ports, a subsidiary of Li’s flagship company CK Hutchison Holdings.
Hutchison’s Hongkong United Dockyards unit proposed to the city planning authority earlier this month to build 15,075 homes on its site and adjacent government land in Tsing Yi.
The site, next to the Tsing Ma Bridge, will comprise 10,370 flats and 4,700 public housing units, which will increase supply in the least affordable city in the world to own a house.
