DHL supporting “crucial” third runway bid as volumes soar in Hong Kong

DHL has thrown its weight behind the bid to build a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), stating the development is “crucial to meeting the territory’s future need for cargo capacity and stay economically competitive”. The Airport Authority has recently launched a public consultation over the plans for the third runway at the airport, which last year overtook Memphis to become the busiest cargo hub in the world.

Volumes at the facility have soared as a result of export growth from China and the Pearl River Delta – up 23.1% year-on-year to 4.17m tonnes.

Newly promoted Jerry Hsu, CEO of Asia Pacific for DHL Express, explained that the ‘global shift’ that has taken Hong Kong to the summit of cargo volumes is set to continue, powered by growth in China.

Hsu said: “By 2030, according to the Airport Authority of Hong Kong, HKIA cargo volume will almost double to 8.9m tonnes. For DHL Express, this region is its fastest growing and we saw throughput growth of more than five times over the last 10 years since we invested in the DHL Central Asia Hub at HKIA in 2000.

“As an industry leader, DHL facilitates trade and continuous government investments in infrastructure and innovation are as integral to this as our own investments. For Hong Kong to continue to outperform the regional economy, it must maintain its excellence in infrastructure as superior capacity, connections and service quality are key to continued economic growth.”

In 2010, DHL Global Forwarding saw total air freight volumes almost return to pre-recession highs with exports continuing to make up the lion’s share. As a result of expected growth in the region, DHL is investing in Centers of Excellence in Hong Kong dedicated to the fashion and apparel, life science and retail sectors to provide excellence in logistics for global and local customers, the company said.

Kelvin Leung, CEO, North Asia Pacific, DHL Global Forwarding, said: “While Hong Kong currently outperforms its population size on the world stage because of its connectivity, this could change if infrastructure fails to keep pace with growth. For example, if HKIA is unable to open new destinations, expand flight frequencies or maintain schedules during bad weather or emergencies because it does not have enough runways, Hong Kong will suffer economically as logistics providers and companies will have to reroute or rethink their supply chains.”

Leung added that imports are set to grow too: “With Asia’s consumers expected to increase their spending from US$4.3 trillion in 2008 to US$32 trillion annually by 2030 – equal to some 43% of global consumer spending by then, imports into Asia are expected to soar with the people of Hong Kong and China demanding more and better consumer goods from around the globe.”

As well as HKIA overtaking Memphis in cargo volumes, the IATA predicts that its passenger market will also grow by 6.7% year-on-year – from 45m in 2009 to 62.2m in 2014. Furthermore, air freight is expected to grow from 3m tonnes in 2009 to 5.3m tonnes by 2014.

Hsu concluded: “The ideal location for an express hub is determined by the location’s geo-commercial value, its airport infrastructure and its operating environment. We’ve based our Central Asia Hub – one of our three global hubs in the world – in Hong Kong for its central location with regards to the economies of the Pearl River Delta. We’re further investing to leverage trade synergies in Hong Kong and the Greater China region where we’re awaiting the completion of our $175m (EUR120m) North Asia Hub, set to open in 2012 at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport.”