Use this rich era of growth to clean up our act

It’s worth stating the obvious here. The China boom is only as strong as our willingness to indulge in retail therapy on an ongoing and extensive basis. And in turn, the staggering rate of investment in port development around the world is also, ultimately dependent on that trend.

But Hackett raises another point that is often ignored. China’s export-led economic growth is spawning a consumer boom in China itself. The Chinese too are enjoying the fruits of their labours, veering towards a consumer society. How long before those nine million bicycles in Beijing are supplemented by nine million of every other item the West has long taken for granted?

And for China, read India. 25 years ago an old China Hand in Hong Kong – a boss of mine – remarked over his Scotch that if he knew one thing for sure it was that China would make it one day, and India would most certainly not. He wasn’t stupid but he was wrong. Others at the time said the same of Southeast Asia’s still-to-emerge economies. And lest anyone be tempted to think the same of other parts of the developing world, never say never.

The juggernaut of economic progress is relentless.

In this issue both the Middle East and West Africa are featured. Dubai has long emulated its sister city states, Hong Kong and Singapore, Now, fuelled by petrodollars, there seems no stopping it. And – as with its Far East friends, Dubai too is using its inherent savvy as a trading and maritime centre to expand globally in the form of DP World. It’s not having it all its own way though. As we go to press PSA is finally making its play for the old imperial giant, P&O. So the wheel of history turns.

In West Africa too, economic progress and port development are walking hand in hand. There are issues of corruption, of creaking bureaucracy, of intransigent labour, but be sure, West Africa will make it one day as well.

Fortunately, the manufacturers of the cargo handling equipment being installed in today’s ports are, by and large, pretty serious about ensuring their machines perform in as environmentally efficient a way as modern technology allows, and this will continue to be the trend as emission standards tighten across the globe.

Given that water transport is still by far the most sustainable mode of all, as an industry we should be able to act as a green standard bearer – an exemplar to other industries around the world. With the kind of investments being made in port infrastructure and acquisition today, it would be grossly irresponsible not to do so.