THE Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association (HKCTOA) has called on the government to increase the number of barge berths and to open up more back-up land for the port to remain competitive.

Members of the HKCTOA met Wednesday to continue the dialogue with industry stakeholders and government officials on expediting the implementation of the current proposals and on the next phase of initiatives that have been promised under the government's "Proposals for Enhancing the Use of Port Back-up Land in Kwai Tsing".

The Government's proposals, released in mid-2015, outlined the first phase in raising the yard to berth ratio of Kwai Tsing Container Port from 11.6 hectare to 12.4 hectares, per berth. The current yard to berth ratio is far below the international standards, in this regard, every bit of land is particularly important to our operational efficiency, the association said in a statement.

The proposals are only the first positive step to restore the competitiveness of the port by addressing around one-fifth of the land optimisation requested by the industry.

Ever since the development of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (KTCT) in early 1970's, the operators have continued to make substantial investments in facilities, equipment and technologies to deliver first class services to their customers and drive the long term economic development of Hong Kong's marine industries.

Their investments ensure that Hong Kong Port is able to handle the largest container vessels afloat, even when the next generation of 21,000 TEU units commences operations in 2017.

In addressing the meeting, chairperson of the HKCTOA, Jessie Chung, said: "The structural changes in the world's shipping market and the ongoing changes in the throughput mix handled in Hong Kong over the past decade have been particularly challenging to the Kwai Tsing Container Port. More ultra-large vessels berthing, alliance restructuring and additional transshipment volumes have increased the operational complexity that we all face.

"Kwai Tsing Container Port has seen the rise of vessel-to-vessel transshipment volumes from 44.9 per cent in 2005 to 58.7 per cent in 2015 and the increase in river-based container traffic in the Pearl River Delta from 2 million TEU in 2005 to 2.8 million TEU in 2015.

"There is an urgent need for additional barge berths and back-up land for handling the high barge and transshipment volumes, which occupy space in the terminals for longer periods of time than truck based cargo.

The land optimisation and other infrastructure initiatives that the industry originally proposed will enlarge the total storage area and provide for an increase in annual capacity of 3-4 million TEU, equivalent to an additional 3 or 4 new container berths.