In what is likely to be his penultimate annual policy address before stepping down next year, Leung Chun-ying, the chief executive of Hong Kong, has detailed plans to merge two maritime bodies in a bid to bolster the city’s shipping hub credentials.
The Maritime Industry Council (MIC) and the Port Development Council (PDC) will merge to become the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board.
The board will be chaired by the secretary for transport and housing and will focus on manpower development, marketing and research to build a high value-added maritime services sector, Leung said.
The board will also advise the local government on how to develop as an international maritime centre.
Since reunification in 1997, Leung has been by some distance the most pro-shipping leader of Hong Kong.
