Speech by STL at launching ceremony of Super Terminal Expo
Following is the speech by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, at the launching ceremony of Super Terminal Expo today (November 3):
The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan. Photo source: reference image
(Deputy Administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China Mr Han Jun), Chairman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, Mr Fred Lam, COO (Chief Operating Officer) of Informa PLC and Chief Executive of Informa Markets, Mr Patrick Martell, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is indeed my great pleasure to join and welcome you all to this marvelous event. Hong Kong is very honoured to host this premier global gathering at a historic milestone in our city's developmental journey. Following the success of our event last year, we are thrilled that this third edition of the Super Terminal Expo has seen a significant increase in both participants and exhibition booths. This remarkable growth is a strong testament to Hong Kong's enduring significance in the global aviation landscape. This year's expanded showcase puts a special spotlight on our cutting-edge smart airport initiatives, alongside our robust aviation pillar industries, including aircraft maintenance and recycling, and the rapidly evolving low-altitude economy. With our Three-Runway System unlocking new potentials, and the realisation of our Airport City vision through SKYTOPIA, we are setting new global benchmarks for smart airports, sustainability and seamless travel for passengers. The Super Terminal Expo offers an unparalleled platform to showcase how Hong Kong shapes the future of terminal operations around the world.
Indeed, our commitment to setting these global benchmarks is already recognised by the international community. Just recently, Hong Kong International Airport received two prestigious honours at the Payload Asia Awards, including the top accolade of Global Airport of the Year, as well as Air Cargo Technology Provider of the Year, marking the fourth consecutive year our technological advancements have been recognised worldwide. Furthermore, our outstanding cargo performance and capabilities were once again recognised and affirmed at the 42nd Air Cargo News Awards in London, where we were named Cargo Hub of the Year, proudly retaining the title we won in 2024. Deep congratulations to the Airport Authority Hong Kong for the wonderful performance over the past few years.
Just weeks ago, we unveiled Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. This foundational blueprint establishes a clear roadmap to reinforce Hong Kong's position as the world's international aviation hub, explicitly steering our industries toward a high-value-added, green and smart future.
Hong Kong. Photo source: reference image
Under this year's theme, "Shaping Asia's Future Transportation Hubs", we are united around three critical pillars: design and development, operations and efficiency, and connectivity and mobility. In this spirit of redefining the future, it is only fitting that we stand here today to witness our next major step forward - a vital new milestone for Hong Kong's international aviation hub.
Today, Hong Kong International Airport is officially launching a game-changing service under the National "Trunk-Branch Connectivity, Whole-Network Linkage" initiative, , through two pioneering corridors: the Hangzhou-Hong Kong Connect and the Wuhan-Hong Kong Connect. By launching these two corridors, we are integrating with our national transfer platform that has already achieved significant and phenomenal success on a massive scale. To put this into perspective, this transfer platform is already active across more than 260 airports on the Mainland and has cumulatively facilitated over 260 million transfer passengers, allowing tens of millions of travellers to enjoy the unprecedented convenience of one-stop check-in and seamless baggage transfers, the two most critical functions to enhance customer experience.
This is far more than a commercial expansion. It is a policy breakthrough which embeds Hong Kong directly into the national overall aviation architecture, and definitively anchors our aviation legacy and secures our future as the preeminent international gateway connecting the Chinese Mainland, the second-largest economy and second-most-populated country to the rest of the world, of course, through Hong Kong, an important aviation hub. To maximise this advantage, we are actively expanding our global footprint. Under Hong Kong's recently promulgated Five-Year Plan, we have set, among other important targets, a very important target to increase our global aviation network from the existing 220 destinations to 240. With this expansion of global destinations, we can strategise and focus on high-growth target markets such as South America, Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
By aligning our global reach directly with the domestic network, Hong Kong is uniquely empowered to act as the vital lynchpin, which is small but serves a very important role, where the country's "inner circulation" seamlessly connects with the international "outer circulation". This lynchpin role of Hong Kong International Airport is absolutely pivotal to Hong Kong fulfilling our unique mandate as a "super-connector" and "super value-adder" for the nation and the world, unlocking tremendous opportunities for the trade and for our aviation industry.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we embark on this transformative chapter, Hong Kong stands ready not just to witness the future of global aviation, but to participate and redefine it. The access is built, the market is ready, and the opportunity to capture prime market share and create lasting value is right in front of us. Now, the stage is set. May I invite all of you to participate and seize these golden opportunities ahead. Together, we can turn visionary blueprints into real actions and shared global success.
Thank you.
The Super Terminal Expo. Photo source: superterminalexpo.com
Diversified activities promote green development co-operation among Belt and Road countries
Following the successful joint organisation of the first "Green Silk Road" - International Training Program on Environmental Protection Technology and Sustainable Development ("Green Silk Road" Training Program) with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) last year, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) continues to deepen its co-operation with the RCEES this year by organising the second "Green Silk Road" Training Program. High-level government officials and experienced environmental protection professionals from Belt and Road (B&R) countries were invited to participate, promoting exchanges and co-operation on sustainable green development.
In addition to being co-organised by the EPD and the RCEES, this year's "Green Silk Road" Training Program welcomed the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province as a joint organiser. The training program aims to enhance environmental technology capacities in B&R countries and foster international environmental protection exchanges and co-operation under the B&R Initiative.
High-level government officials and experienced environmental protection professionals from eight B&R countries (including Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, the Seychelles, Cuba, the Maldives, and Kyrgyzstan) who came to Hong Kong to attend the Eco Expo Asia were invited to participate in the "Green Silk Road" Training Program held in Changsha, Hunan, from October 28 to 31.
The delegation from B&R countries conducted field visits in Changsha, Hunan, on October 30 and visited a sewage treatment plant to learn about the advanced technologies involved, experiencing integrated garden waste shredding technology and visiting green companies to understand the latest technologies and achievements in the environmental protection sector of the Mainland. On October 29, the delegation also visited a green company to inspect a lights-out lab. The Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui, also attended the "Green Silk Road" Training Program in Changsha, Hunan, on October 29 and delivered welcome remarks at the training session of the CAS Centre of Excellence for Water and Environment held in the morning.
Apart from the visit to Changsha, Hunan, the delegation also participated in a series of activities during their stay in Hong Kong earlier on. They visited the EPD's sludge treatment facility, T·PARK, on October 27 to learn about Hong Kong's first self-sufficient, waste-to-energy, sludge treatment facility that applies advanced incineration technology. The delegation also visited the International Organization for Mediation to understand Hong Kong's services and unique advantages in resolving international disputes, as well as how to leverage Hong Kong to promote international co-operation and commercial and trade activities to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
The delegation also attended the Experience Sharing Forum on Promoting Environmental Business in Oversees Market on October 26. The event brought together government representatives, environmental enterprises, and industry leaders to share successful experiences in expanding into overseas markets, with a key focus on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and B&R markets. A number of local, Mainland, and overseas enterprises shared insights on how to make good use of Hong Kong's unique advantages and opportunities to expand into overseas markets and realise the opportunities for going global.
A spokesperson for the EPD said that the Department will continue to actively promote green B&R international co-operation, facilitate the exchanges of environmental protection technologies and experiences, and work together to achieve high-quality green and sustainable development.
On the first day (October 26) of Eco Expo Asia, the Environmental Protection Department jointly organised the Experience Sharing Forum on Promoting Environmental Business in Overseas Markets with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Delegations from Belt and Road countries attended Eco Expo Asia, and visited the International Organization for Mediation on October 27. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
Delegations from Belt and Road countries attended Eco Expo Asia, and visited T·PARK, the sludge treatment facility of the Environmental Protection Department, on October 27. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Environmental Protection Department, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province co-organised the second "Green Silk Road" - International Training Program on Environmental Protection Technology and Sustainable Development. High-level government officials and experienced environmental protection professionals from Belt and Road (B&R) countries were invited to participate, promoting exchanges and co-operation on sustainable green development. Photo shows the B&R delegation participating in a training program held in Changsha, Hunan, from October 28 to 31, inspecting a model of integrated domestic sewage management for townships in Hubei. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Environmental Protection Department, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province co-organised the second "Green Silk Road" - International Training Program on Environmental Protection Technology and Sustainable Development. High-level government officials and experienced environmental protection professionals from Belt and Road (B&R) countries were invited to participate, promoting exchanges and co-operation on sustainable green development. Photo shows the B&R delegation participating in a training program held in Changsha, Hunan, from October 28 to 31, and attentively listening to an introduction on lights-out laboratory equipment by the company representative. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Environmental Protection Department, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province co-organised the second "Green Silk Road" - International Training Program on Environmental Protection Technology and Sustainable Development. High-level government officials and experienced environmental protection professionals from Belt and Road (B&R) countries were invited to participate, promoting exchanges and co-operation on sustainable green development. Photo shows the B&R delegation participating in a training program held in Changsha, Hunan, from October 28 to 31, visited a local leading green company with the Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui (front row, fourth right), and Assistant Director of Environmental Protection Mr Sunny Sun (front row, second right). Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Environmental Protection Department, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province co-organised the second "Green Silk Road" - International Training Program on Environmental Protection Technology and Sustainable Development. Photo shows the Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui (first row, eighth right); the Director of the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province, Mr Liao Lianghui (first row, seventh left); Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Mr Qu Jiuhui (first row, eighth left) and the delegates from the Belt and Road countries attending the training program. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
The Environmental Protection Department, the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province co-organised the second "Green Silk Road" - International Training Program on Environmental Protection Technology and Sustainable Development. High-level government officials and experienced environmental protection professionals from Belt and Road countries were invited to participate, promoting exchanges and co-operation on sustainable green development. The Director of Environmental Protection, Dr Samuel Chui, attended the training program in Changsha, Hunan, on October 29. Photo shows Dr Chui delivering a speech at the training session of the CAS Centre of Excellence for Water and Environment held in the morning on October 29. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
