By Chris Philips, Managing Editor
The US Senate has once again blocked the final permit
allowing the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline. I heard the news in Hong
Kong, where I was attending the fourth annual Asian Logistics and Maritime
Conference (ALMC), at the invitation of the Hong Kong Trade Development
Council. The ALMC brought logistics services providers and maritime users
together to exchange market and shipping intelligence and explore maritime and
logistics business opportunities in the region.
The conference welcomed more than 1,600 participants from
around the world to address maritime and logistics issues facing Asia and the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Hong Kong is a logical venue for the conference because of
the city's location and strong maritime heritage. Within five hours by air of
half of the world's population, Hong Kong's robust infrastructure and proximity
to mainland China make it a natural interface for companies trading with Asia
and the US West Coast.
“Hong Kong brings stability to the region,” Mr. Willy Lin,
Chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers Council and Deputy Chairman of the
Federation of Hong Kong Industries told me over a meal in a cafe near the
convention. "The city welcomes businesses, and offers residents a voice in
the governing process."
Anyone who lives in Hong Kong is eligible to vote in its
elections. Notwithstanding the peaceful but disruptive protests taking place in
the city center, the governance of Hong Kong acts largely in the best interests
of its constituents.
Major infrastructure projects in Hong Kong are fast-tracked
to help the island's businesses thrive, but not at the expense of the
environment. Arthur Bowring, Managing Director of the Hong Kong Shipowners
Association, told me his Association led an industry coalition that proposed a
scheme to encourage ships calling Hong Kong to switch to low sulfur diesel in
their hotel generators when alongside berth or at anchor. The island is mainly
powered by coal, so cold ironing would not greatly reduce pollution in the long
run, but switching from heavy fuel would reduce sulfur emissions dramatically
from the vessels while at berth. The Government of Hong Kong responded with a
partial subsidy to encourage the shipowners to make the switch, which many
have, without any mandate or regulation.
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is a major component
in the region's intermodal infrastructure. In 2013, HKIA handled 59.9 million
passengers, 4.12 million tons of cargo and 372,040 flight movements, on two
runways. The airport, built on a manmade island in 1998, is fast approaching
its maximum handling capacity.
A third runway, to be created by increasing the size of the
current footprint with more fill, is receiving tentative approval as long as
the project takes the welfare of the indigenous dolphin population into
account. While not yet approved, the entire project (filling 2.5 square miles
of bay, constructing a runway and passenger terminal with underground rail
access) will be complete by 2023.
A 27-mile bridge, connecting Hong Kong, Zuhai and Macao will
cut truck transit times from 4 hours to 45 minutes. The bridge is on time to be
completed in 2017- only seven years after the beginning of the project; A
27-mile multi-lane freeway bridge in seven years from start to finish.
While our legislators in Washington, can’t pass a single
permit to build the final phase of a single pipeline after more than six years,
“Asia's World City,” symbolized by a mythical and powerful dragon, works with
its stakeholders to build infrastructure to accommodate trade from half of the
world's population, offering a stable base from which the world's companies can
thrive.
