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"Problem
was, if a customer like an Apple or Intel
had a specific requirement, we [Cathay Pacific]
couldn't address it [while it used HACTL.]
With the new facility, we can customise
that solution."
This
reflects two Hong Kong truths, said AJOT,
the need for increased velocity to offset
land shortages measured against the need
to move up the value chain with customised
solutions.
Although
the new facility is initially only handling
Cathay Pacific and subsidiary Dragonair,
the facility has the licence for third parties.
Mr Sutch said it would have to be a service
"that makes sense!‥, a company that
Cathay is interlining with or has related
interests.
Cathay
air cargo terminal chief Algernon Yau said
while showing the AJOT around the 109-square
metre highly automated facility, it was
"designed to handle just-in-time operations!‥,
which accounted for a high capacity of 2.6
million tonnes in such a small footprint.
The
entire facility has close-circuited TV,
cold storage, dangerous goods, livestock
as well as a unique system of registering
vehicles to increase terminal velocity and
nearly eliminate trucking wait times. The
facility has already utilised a high degree
of RFID tags, which with the bridge/road
system enable notification to the cargo
facilities of the truck's arrival and nature
of the freight.
The
proposed third runway represents a big piece
of the logistics future for the entire region
as it knits facilities together like the
new Cathay terminal with HZMB. The idea
is to build a runway outside and parallel
to the existing north runway (largely for
passenger aircraft). This involves land
formation of 650 hectares north of the existing
airport. It would also involve building
a taxiway runway system with airfield support.
Most
of the cargo facilities are on the south
side of the airport, and a tunnel was built
but never deployed that runs underneath
the south runway into the cargo area. By
opening the tunnel, cargo from the adjacent
planes can be funneled into the cargo area
without crossing traffic. However, one of
the great challenges of adding a new runway
is the northern runway that has a core of
rock, and any tunnel would have to be built
with the current northern runway being shut
down and the traffic shifted to the runway
(or possibly with outer runway completion,
runways). The combination of the two projects
represents a major change in logistics both
regionally and for all of Asia.
While
the dream of connecting Hong Kong with Macau
and Zhuhai goes back to the 19th century,
the problems have been enough to stop much
more than the construction of a simple railway
from Kowloon. But as more energy and cooperation
are brought to bear, the realisation of
this dream appears to be well within reach
at last.
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