Albert Lo is Manager of Cargo Services, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited and Chairman of IATA's E-Freight Management Group -Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has been chosen by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to be one of five pilot countries and regions to implement its much-touted e-freight project, which aims to significantly reduce the amount of paperwork handled by the air freight industry. Is Hong Kong ready for the challenge?

You bet it is. Perhaps to many people's surprise, our air freight industry is one of the most mature in the world in terms of electronic application - which is why Hong Kong was chosen to run the pilot project in the first place.

Electronic air freight billing has been used by shippers and forwarders ever since IATA started promoting the reduction of paperwork in 2004. Today, most forwarders are familiar with sending data to airline companies using standard IATA Cargo Interchange Message Procedure (Cargo IMP).

Coupled with a sound legal foundation and strong governmental support, e-freight is poised to take off in Hong Kong like a breeze. After having set the goals, the local IATA chapter's E-Freight Management Group is now doing preparatory work and gearing up for the transition to "go live" in the beginning of December.

Imagine a future - and a very near one at that - without the need to type any airway bills. Shippers and forwarders can save so much manpower and time, not to mention the forests saved through a drastic cut in paper use.

IATA statistics show that the amount of paper used by industry every year can fill up 39 Jumbo cargo planes! For the trade and logistics industries as a whole, not only is import or export documentation simplified, handling cost and transit time can also be greatly reduced, thanks to the efficiency and timeliness of e-freight.