After nearly five years in operation, Macau International Airport has come of age."There is no reason why in two years the airport can't have double the cargo coming in." - Roger Stephenson
The Pearl River Delta's youngest airport, Macau International Airport, is approaching its fifth birthday in an optimistic mood.
The infant is over its early teething problems, has finally seen a role for itself in the expanding economy of Southern China, has paid off a lot of its start-up debt, and has secured some valuable new cargo business.
In 1999 the airport handled 53,118 tonnes of air cargo, down 18 per cent from 1998's bumper year when hiccups at Hong Kong International Airport led to cargo being re-routed through Macau.
While this volume is acceptable for a young hub, especially one situated in one of the world's best served regions for airports, Macau International Airport (CAM) marketing director Roger Stephenson sees it as small compared with the airport's massive potential.
"After five years I would have expected cargo volumes to be much greater than they are now. There is no reason why in two years the airport can't have double the cargo coming in," Stephenson said.
The airport is currently in a tricky situation where it needs to attract more airlines so that forwarders will set up in Macau. But, without a significant presence of forwarders, carriers will see no point in using the airport.
"Freight now is becoming logistics driven, rather than carrier driven. So our efforts are focused on attracting a multinational forwarder, and that forwarder would then look for the necessary lift to match its needs. So it is the Panalpinas, the Danzas and the Kuehne and Nagels that we're talking to.
"What we need to do now is to establish some facilities at or near the airport in Macau for forwarders to do break-bulk, build-up and warehousing activities. And that, of course, can develop into other logistics essentials such as pick-and-pack, just-in-time, etc."
The airport will have no problem accommodating either a logistics centre or the increased cargo flow generated by a free trade zone, believes MASC OGDEN general manager of cargo services at Macau International Airport, Max Hill.
"There is certainly room for expansion at the airport. There is space for warehousing, and the airport's location is perfect for goods coming from, or going to, the west side of the Pearl River Delta into mainland China. Transport links come right into the cargo terminal here."
The recently opened Lotus Bridge, joining Macau with neighbouring Zhuhai in South China, is just one kilometre from Macau International Airport, and has the capacity to handle 20,000 vehicles a day.
It takes just 30 minutes between the airport and the six-lane Zhuhai-Guangzhou superhighway that runs up the industrial corridor along the west bank of the Pearl River. The new road system reduces travel between the airport and central Guangzhou to less than two hours, and puts Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Panyu and Foshan within easy reach of the airport.
Stephenson believes that faster Customs procedures also add to the efficiency of routing export cargo via Macau. "We have a good understanding with Customs on both sides of the border, who have set ambitious targets and standards in terms of clearing freight. They are an integral part of our efficiency," he said.
The Zhuhai border was upgraded last year, with the opening of a new 19,000 square metre Customs and immigration post.
With Guangdong accounting for around 40 per cent of China's exports, there should be ample demand for cargo services in the future, if Macau is able to offer shippers the right combination of logistics support, forwarder presence and uplift capacity.
Some extra cargo capacity has come in recent months - not from an influx of new carriers, but from airlines upgrading to larger aircraft or adding extra services.
Singapore Airlines is to add two weekly flights via Macau in October this year, using Boeing 747-400 freighters - one to Los Angeles, the other to Chicago and New York. Further capacity is coming from EVA Air, which uses the airport to carry cargo from Taiwan to the mainland through an agreement with national carrier, Air Macau.
"A lot of our cargo travels in bellyhold space - something like 65 per cent of it. So, airlines such as EVA upgrading their service is good news for the airport. Whereas EVA used to operate all B747-200 aircraft, it is now operating 767-300s," said Stephenson.
A further boost came recently when MASKargo started freighter services to the airport, filling the gap left when SAS Cargo transferred its freighter service from Macau to Hong Kong in April this year.
The kind of lift needed by the airport could also be provided by one of the integrators. DHL, for example, has said that Macau would be in the reckoning when it came to choosing a central Asian hub in the next two years.
The airport is conducting a trade facilitation survey, to analyse how to integrate itself further into the global distribution network.
On the agenda is whether the airport should transform itself into a logistics hub, or into a free trade zone.
However, at 23 square kilometres, the whole of Macau could become a free trade zone, Stephenson believes.