Asia must upgrade existing ports and build new ones to meet the needs of next generation "mega-container ships" as the center of gravity of global trade shifts from Europe to the region, analysts said at a maritime conference here Wednesday.
The rising share of China, India and Southeast Asia in world trade, increasing intra-regional transactions and a growing trend towards economic integration mean higher volumes of goods originating and passing through the region's ports and shipping lanes.
Jose Tongzon, an expert on maritime trade at the National University of Singapore, said China's share of global trade expanded from only 3.07 percent in 1990 to 11.20 percent in 2002.
The share of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) rose from 3.23 percent to 8.10 percent in the same period, while that of industrialised countries excluding Japan and the United States inched up at a slower clip from 11.29 percent to 14.24.
"The gravity of trade has shifted from Europe to Asia-Pacific," Tongzon said on the first day of the Asia Pacific Maritime summit. For every three shipping containers bound for Europe from Asia, only two are coming the other way, resulting in a trade imbalance, he said.
China's rising role as a production base for exports, the growing economic integration of India and other developing Asian countries, and increasing trade within East Asia were cited as factors for the buoyant regional outlook.
Container throughput in China, including Hong Kong, soared 25 percent annually between 1998 and 2002, compared with 8.2 percent in Europe and 5.6 percent in North America.
Excluding Hong Kong, China's container volumes climbed 50.7 percent annually in the same period.
Singapore Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong told the conference Asia needs to build up its port infrastructure fast enough to meet the growth of maritime trade.
"In this regard, key Asian countries like China and India are already proceeding at breakneck speed," he said.
"India, for example, is embarking on ambitious development and expansion plans for its major ports, such as the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai, and the Cochin Container Terminal on the south-eastern coast."
China is also expanding its ports in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Dalian. Yeo said Asian planners needed to consider the arrival of "mega" container ships with a capacity of more than 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which currently make up almost 30 percent of the tonnage on order for delivery in 2006. China Shipping has ordered ships with a capacity of 9,600 TEUs.
"Ships will get bigger as shipping lines seek to achieve greater economies of scale. Ports will thus have to ensure timely upgrades of their facilities to serve these new generation ships," he said.
Yeo said Asia must also develop the necessary logistics services to ensure a steady supply chain and factor-in the requirements of maritime security in the initial stages of planning for the ports.