{"id":85489,"date":"2025-04-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2025\/04\/07\/heathrow-airports-kitting-out-could-cost-gdp-1-bn\/"},"modified":"2025-04-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T00:00:00","slug":"heathrow-airports-kitting-out-could-cost-gdp-1-bn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/logistics\/2025\/04\/07\/heathrow-airports-kitting-out-could-cost-gdp-1-bn\/","title":{"rendered":"Heathrow Airport\u2019s kitting out could cost GDP 1 bn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kitting <\/strong>out London\u2019s Heathrow Airport to avoid a repeat of <\/strong>last month's emergency shutdown<\/a><\/strong> could cost over GDP 1 bn<\/strong>, Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said during a parliamentary questioning (watch, runtime: 09:25<\/a>). The airport is looking to refit its facilities to achieve \u201cfull resilience,\u201d 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<\/a> 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 \u201chighly complicated\u201d and took some 10 hours to implement.<\/p>\n

Reinforcing a key logistics hub:<\/strong> London Heathrow handles some GDP 200 bn worth of cargo each year, with around 48% of all the UK\u2019s air cargo processed through the airport in 2023, Sky News<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n

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China <\/strong>probes CK Hutchison sale of Panama ports:<\/strong> China\u2019s 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\u2019s potential repercussions on fair competition and China\u2019s public interests, according to a statement<\/a>. \u201cThere will not be an official signing of the two Panama ports [agreement] next week,\u201d a source close to CK Hutchison told Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post<\/a>. <\/p>\n

REFRESHER- <\/strong>CK Hutchinson agreed in March to sell a majority stake<\/a> in its ports subsidiary to a consortium led by the US\u2019 Blackrock for USD 19 bn. The sale \u2014 which was initially set to close on 2 April<\/a> \u2014 would include Panama canal\u2019s Balboa and Cristobal ports \u2014 each situated on one of the waterway\u2019s sides. It is not yet clear whether China\u2019s probe will look into the transaction as a whole or focus on Panama ports.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s at stake? <\/strong>Control of the Panama waterway \u2014 through which about 40% of the US container shipments pass<\/a> \u2014 emerged as a key focus area for the Trump administration, with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatening<\/a> Panama earlier this year with \u201cimmediate consequences\u201d if the country failed to curb China\u2019s influence in the waterway. This comes as part of a general US push to rein in China\u2019s dominance in the global shipping sector, with the US also targeting China\u2019s shipbuilding sector. <\/p>\n

This story grabbed ink in <\/strong>Reuters<\/a><\/strong> and <\/strong>Bloomberg<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING THIS MORNING-<\/strong><\/p>\n