Investment in ports: a key enabler of growth
8 February 2021: ICAEW member Clemence Cheng is Managing Director, Hutchison Ports Europe, and Executive Director, Hutchison Port Holdings. As a major infrastructure operator, he has a bird’s eye view on the impact of infrastructure investment on trade, society and the environment.
“Infrastructure investment is undoubtedly a key enabler of growth – and is rightly prioritised by the UK Government to ensure the country bounces back from COVID and post-Brexit,” says Cheng. “As port operators we need a coherent policy for infrastructure development from government – and successive governments.”
Hutchison Ports invests in container ports – these are not passenger infrastructure investments but an integral part of the international trade network and an enabler of international supply chains. “We deal with global traders and manufacturers and, ultimately, we are looking after the consumer. Ports cannot survive on their own – they are a node in a supply chain,” he says.