Cathay-Dragonair tie-up expected to change face of thriving logistics market
The proposed merger of Hong Kong's biggest airlines prompted a call yesterday for the government to undertake a full industry consultation before awarding a new cargo terminal at the airport.
In the first public sign of concern about the merger's impact on competition, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl) yesterday urged the Airport Authority to investigate the potential impact of awarding a dedicated terminal to Cathay Pacific Airways, as the carrier has requested.
'The Cathay-Dragonair merger and its implications for the air cargo industry must be carefully weighed by the authorities,' Hactl said in a statement yesterday. 'Any decision ... about handling will have long-term consequences for the thriving cargo-handling and logistics industry. There must be a full and open consultation with all stakeholders.'
The authority, which will meet this week, is understood to be leaning towards an open tender process to award the airport's fourth cargo terminal to serve an industry that is expected to handle about $1.8 trillion in trade this year.
Cathay, which handled almost 1.12 million tonnes of cargo last year and was 12.7 per cent ahead of that pace in the first four months of this year, in December asked to build a self-handling terminal ultimately capable of handling five million tonnes a year.
The request came just days after talks between Hactl and Cathay over the new terminal collapsed when Hactl minorities, believed to be Hutchison Whampoa and The Wharf Group, shot down a deal which would have kept Dragonair at Hactl after Cathay's inevitable departure.
