Kitting out London’s Heathrow Airport to avoid a repeat of last month’s emergency shutdown could cost over GDP 1 bn, Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said during a parliamentary questioning (watch, runtime: 09:25). The airport is looking to refit its facilities to achieve “full resilience,” after a fire at a nearby substation caused an airport-wide powercut last month that disrupted the plans of around 270k passengers and cost airlines USD 60-100 mn, The New York Times reports. Heathrow is looking to plug gaps in its energy reboot and back-up system, after the power cut forced the airport to switch to an alternative energy supply, a process which proved “highly complicated” and took some 10 hours to implement.

Reinforcing a key logistics hub: London Heathrow handles some GDP 200 bn worth of cargo each year, with around 48% of all the UK’s air cargo processed through the airport in 2023, Sky News reports.

China probes CK Hutchison sale of Panama ports: China’s top antitrust watchdog State Administration for Market Regulation has blocked Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison from selling its two ports in the Panama Canal. The regulator said it will investigate the transaction’s potential repercussions on fair competition and China’s public interests, according to a statement. “There will not be an official signing of the two Panama ports [agreement] next week,” a source close to CK Hutchison told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.

REFRESHER- CK Hutchinson agreed in March to sell a majority stake in its ports subsidiary to a consortium led by the US’ Blackrock for USD 19 bn. The sale — which was initially set to close on 2 April — would include Panama canal’s Balboa and Cristobal ports — each situated on one of the waterway’s sides. It is not yet clear whether China’s probe will look into the transaction as a whole or focus on Panama ports.

What’s at stake? Control of the Panama waterway — through which about 40% of the US container shipments pass — emerged as a key focus area for the Trump administration, with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatening Panama earlier this year with “immediate consequences” if the country failed to curb China’s influence in the waterway. This comes as part of a general US push to rein in China’s dominance in the global shipping sector, with the US also targeting China’s shipbuilding sector.

This story grabbed ink in Reuters and Bloomberg.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-

  • APM acquires PCRC: Maersk’s subsidiary APM Terminals has acquired the Panama Canal Railway Company (PCRC) from Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd and Lanco Group’s Mi-Jack. (Statement)
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