The 65-hectare container terminal near Tuen Mun in Hong Kong’s northwest was opened in 1998 and was the first purpose-built container terminal for handling river trade cargoes moving between Hong Kong and ports in the Pearl River Delta. It was designed to handle the then fast-growing container transhipment trade however has since met tough competition by rival terminals such as the China Merchants Port (CMPort) and Chu Kong Shipping-owned Chu Kong River Trade Terminal as well as seen throughput declines from the overall declining trend in river trade transhipment in general.
The idea of redeveloping the site was set to be discussed at a meeting of a task force advising the government on land supply this week.
The South China Morning Post cited a government paper with figures showing that on average, the terminal’s 49 berths were underused in 2017, and operated at only 24% of capacity. Cargo handled by the terminal comprised only 4.7% of all shipments handled by Hong Kong ports, suggesting there is overcapacity that can be easily absorbed.
However redeveloping the area is not straightforward. The land is currently on a 50-year lease to the Hutchison Port Holdings-Sun Hung Kai Properties joint venture till June 30, 2047.
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