Aviation deal may be near: DHL agreements boost prospects for US-Hong Kong negotiations. (Air Cargo).

Two deals signed this month by DHL with the Hong Kong Airport Authority and Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways have cleared the way for a bilateral agreement to liberalize air transportation between Hong Kong and the U.S.

The bilateral negotiations are scheduled to resume this week in Hong Kong. Though previous rounds of bargaining began with high hopes only to end in disappointment, the outcome this time should be different, especially as it applies to cargo.

The DHL agreements secure Hong Kong's long-term position in the fiercely competitive Asian express market by committing the carrier to invest $100 million in an express cargo terminal at the airport and to expand its partnership with Cathay Pacific. The terminal, scheduled to open in 2004, will be the largest of its kind in Asia, according to DHL. Initially, the terminal will be 196,000 square feet, but it's scheduled to be expanded to 355,000 square feet by 2014. DHL has the exclusive right to …