China-Hong Kong intermodal cargo takes digital and logistical leap forward

August 1st 2023

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Cargo bound for the world from southern China’s Greater Bay Area will soon be able to be loaded upstream at a purpose-built joint DHL facility in Dongguan where all necessary customs documentation will be completed and consignments can be transported by ferry to air or rail to air directly to HKIA. Read More »

This multi-model transport “cargo freeway” will be launched in September and be critical to reducing frictions in the cargo sector in the GBA, it was universally agreed by panelists at the Aviation Day.

HKIA CEO, Fred Lam, told delegates less shipping by sea means an increase in market share for cargo and that an Alibaba logistics facility coming on line in Shenzhen will enhance the airport’s goal of expanding in Guangdong as a “smart aviation” hub.

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) executive director commerce, Cissy Chan, said the authority intends to build HKIA into the “premier e-commerce hub”, a leader in special cargo handling and the innovator of upstream Dongguan logistics park.

“Our ultimate goal is to add value for forwarders and cargo companies and reach a target of 10 million tonnes of cargo per year by 2035,” Chan said.

DHL’s regional boss, Mark Slade, said: “the border is the biggest challenge we face. It is quite a hard border with a GBA-HK round trip of about six hours.

“If we could go straight through and needed only one set of files and not two, we could halve the transit time. One solution discussed was the operation of autonomous vehicles on the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge.”

Another hindrance to cargo operations was different regulations between Hong Kong, GBA and also Greater China, Cathay Cargo boss, Tom Owens, said.

Separately, Cathay’s Lam said “intermodal development that removes custom restrictions will benefit traffic from the GBA to HKIA”.

Cathay Cargo, now increasingly digitalized, remains committed to be the best cargo carrier in the world, Lam said. IATA director general, Willie Walsh, who was a panelist in the opening session of the Aviation Day conference, said cargo is recording 36% volume in the belly holds of passenger aircraft compared with 50% pre-pandemic.