# HONG KONG | Chek Lap Kok Airport Island Developments



## hkskyline

Introduction 

Although opened in July 1998, Hong Kong International Airport has recently embarked on a HK$4.5 billion programme for Terminal 1 capacity enhancement and airfield improvements such as building a North Satellite Concourse, reconfiguring of the Departures Immigration Hall, adding new taxiways, and resurfacing of the two runways.























































In addition to the airport facilities, additional infrastructure is being built to service the airport on the reclaimed island, which includes a new Marriott hotel nearing completion and a golf course now in use.



















Previous projects on the airport island include :

*AsiaWorld Expo 
http://www.asiaworld-expo.com/*



















*Terminal 2*


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## JPBrazil

Does anybody has a sattelite picture of this island?


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## EricIsHim

JPBrazil said:


> Does anybody has a sattelite picture of this island?


Google!
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...925,113.917322&spn=0.029182,0.072098&t=h&z=15


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## FM 2258

Those satellite terminals look really nice.


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## JPBrazil

EricIsHim said:


> Google!
> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...925,113.917322&spn=0.029182,0.072098&t=h&z=15


Wow it looks huge, thanks.


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## Shezan

good job kay:


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## hkskyline

North Concourse Rendering :










By *bextra* from skyscrapers.cn


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## hkskyline

*HK Airport Authority To Build New HK$1 Bln Ferry Terminal *
27 November 2006

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Airport Authority Hong Kong said Monday it will spend HK$1 billion on building a new ferry terminal linking the city's international airport with cities in nearby Guangdong province to meet increasing traffic demand. 

The authority, which operates the Hong Kong International Airport, said it expects passenger volume at the ferry terminal to total 3 million in 2011, up from a forecast 1.5 million this year. 

The new four-berth terminal is scheduled for completion in 2008, replacing the current, temporary facility. The pier will be linked to the airport's main terminal building by a driver-less train system. 

Five ports in the Pearl River Delta, south China's industrial hub, have ferry services to the Hong Kong airport, connecting it with cities such as Shenzhen and Macau. Ferry operators said they are considering adding three more points in coming months. 

The latest expansion is part of the airport authority's overall plans to boost capacity at the airport as passenger traffic rises to near its current annual handling capacity of 45 million. 

It expects 60 million passengers to pass through the government-owned airport annually by 2020, up nearly 50% from 40.7 million last year. The rise will likely be fueled by surging trade and tourism growth in the Pearl River Delta. 

In January, the authority said it will spend HK$4.5 billion over the next four years to build a satellite concourse beside the passenger terminal, increase parking bays for cargo aircraft, and improve facilities in the main terminal building.


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## hkskyline

*Airport Authority Awards New Cargo Terminal Franchise to
Cathay Pacific Services Limited*
Press Release

(Hong Kong, 18 March 2008) — The Board of Airport Authority Hong Kong today awarded a non-exclusive, 20-year franchise to design, construct and operate a new cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to Cathay Pacific Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited. The new terminal and recently completed enhancements to the cargo apron, taxiways and aircraft stands will equip HKIA to meet future demand for cargo services and to maintain its position as the region’s premier air cargo hub.

Airport Authority Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui said, “The new cargo terminal will reinforce the competitiveness of HKIA as a regional and international air cargo hub. It will provide additional choices for airlines, shippers and freight forwarders. And it will bring substantial economic benefits, in the form of new jobs and business opportunities, to Hong Kong.”

Scheduled to open in the second half of 2011, the new terminal will have an annual capacity of about 2.6 million tonnes and increase the airport’s total general and express cargo handling capacity to 7.4 million tonnes per annum. The new facility will be located on a 10-hectare site in the cargo terminal area.

According to Cathay Pacific Services, construction of the new terminal will create over 400 jobs. When it starts operation, the facility will employ more than 1,700 people.

“The new operator will bring additional competition to Hong Kong’s air cargo industry and build on the reputation for quality and efficiency that HKIA and its existing general cargo operators have achieved,” noted Mr Hui. The number of general and express cargo operators at HKIA will increase from three to four.

The decision to build a new cargo terminal was made after the Airport Authority held extensive consultations with Hong Kong’s air cargo and logistics industry. In December 2006, the Airport Authority called for pre-qualification proposals, which was followed by invitation for submission of business plans. The Airport Authority assessed the business plans and decided to award the franchise to Cathay Pacific Services as a result of an open and competitive tender process. The Airport Authority also invited the Independent Commission Against Corruption as an independent advisor to oversee the process.

Driven by the rapid expansion of the Mainland Chinese economy and robust global trade, cargo throughput at HKIA rose 4.5% in 2007, to 3.74 million tonnes. The air cargo industry handled over HK$1.9 trillion worth of goods in 2007, representing 35% of Hong Kong’s total external trade. HKIA is the world’s busiest international cargo airport for the 11th consecutive year.


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## hkskyline

Notice the *North Concourse* U/C in the centre above the terminal building :










Some other construction :


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## pookgai

I can't find any more information on the North Satellite Concourse online... I'm really interested in understanding how it works with the main terminal. Will you have to take a bus to reach this building? Or will there be an underground walkway? The People Mover System runs East/West under the main terminal building...


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## hkskyline

AsiaWorld Expo by *bextra* from skyscrapers.cn










... with Marriott hotel UC










... with North Concourse UC


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## hkskyline

Terminal 2 Opens in 2007 
1 June, 2007
HKIA celebrated the Grand Opening of Terminal 2 and the 10th Anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). The Hon Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, was among the officiating guests.

By *bextra* from skyscrapers.cn


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## hkskyline

*Airport set to expand despite economic crisis *
24 November 2008
South China Morning Post

The government is determined to press ahead with expansion of the airport - including a third terminal and third runway - in the next five years, despite a continuous decline in air traffic since the start of the financial meltdown.

He also said that the third terminal and runway were among projects to be finalised in the next five to six years, under the plans.

Passenger numbers and cargo volume at the airport have been declining since August.

Cargo fell 7.5 per cent year on year in September and 9.2 per cent last month, while passenger numbers shrank 4.7 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

International cargo terminal operator Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals also announced this month that it handled only 222,166 tonnes of cargo in October, a year-on-year drop of 9.8 per cent.

The Airport Authority blamed the global financial crisis for the reduction in visitors, imports, exports and transshipments.

But the source said the temporary decline would not stop the government from expanding the airport to maintain its regional advantage.

Apart from the much-discussed third runway, key plans under study include building a third terminal and further developing the middle field area of the airport.

The building of new cargo handling and airline catering facilities was also being considered, the source said.

The existing master plan, to 2020, proposes increasing the number of aircraft gates by building an elongated "X" shaped midfield concourse that would provide 49 so-called frontal-parking stands - those connected by air bridge to the concourse - and 10 remote or unconnected stands.

"Critical mass is what counts in aviation," the source said. "We have to keep the traffic level in order to secure the airport's regional hub status.

"We are talking about long-term planning, otherwise people will pull out their business to other airports in Zhuhai or Shenzhen."

Hung Wing-tat, transport expert and associate professor of civil and structural engineering at Polytechnic University, said the airport's development plan should not be shelved because of the financial turmoil.

"Hong Kong is expected to recover more quickly, given its close relation with the mainland's strong economy," he said.

Law Cheung-kwok, associate director of the Aviation Policy and Research Centre of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said the scale and pace of future airport developments, such as a new terminal and additional gates, would largely be driven by demand.

A spokeswoman for the Airport Authority said that while the operating environment for the rest of the year would continue to be difficult, plans and projects to equip the airport for growth would proceed.


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## hkskyline

*Runway could cross boundary *
24 November 2008
South China Morning Post

The third runway proposed for the airport at Chek Lap Kok could intrude into mainland waters, as planners try to avoid contaminated seabed mud pits and protect nearby residents from noise.

Central government approval would be needed for this option to proceed but a government source said the intrusion was minor and should not present a great problem.

At least three options for the runway were shown to Airport Authority board members after the authority commissioned consultants in July to study the feasibility of such a plan.

One would take in some of the 12 mud pits north of Chek Lap Kok, used since 1992 to dispose of contaminated mud dredged for large projects and maintenance of navigation channels, one of which is still in use.

The option that appears most feasible traverses sea borders but stays clear of the mud pits and residential developments, a board member and government source said.

"A runway built on contaminated mud might not be feasible," the source said, adding that flight paths in the other two options could trigger more complaints from residents affected by noise pollution.

Complaints had been lodged by residents in Tuen Mun, Ma Wan, Sha Tin and the south of Hong Kong Island, the source said.

Last year, the Civil Aviation Department received more than 400 complaints.

Opting for the wrong flight path would worsen pollution from aircraft, the source said.

For the other option, Hong Kong would have to demonstrate to the central government that the adjustment of the marine border was a minor one, the source said.

A board member who declined to be named said the boundary could be revised.

"The reclamation issue is the real problem for building the third runway," the board member said.

Reports have said that more than 20 hectares of reclaimed land would be needed for a third runway of a similar size to the existing two.

Transport expert Hung Wing-tat said a third runway might not be necessary with the launch of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Airports Link last month, a service that enables passengers at airports in both cities to check in and obtain boarding passes for connecting flights at the other.

"Hong Kong can just cater for international flights while Shenzhen caters for domestic flights. Hong Kong will still benefit from the increasing demand from visitors for transit," Professor Hung said.


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## hkskyline

Previously posted by Skybean :*
T2*









T2 roof top and Tung Chung Buildings









Panorama: Terminal 2 rooftop









Panorama: Terminal 2



























Panorama : Exhibition Hall 



























source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hk_grasses_id/sets/72157609211202052/


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## deej

hkskyline said:


> Transport expert Hung Wing-tat said a third runway might not be necessary with the launch of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Airports Link last month, a service that enables passengers at airports in both cities to check in and obtain boarding passes for connecting flights at the other.
> 
> "Hong Kong can just cater for international flights while Shenzhen caters for domestic flights. Hong Kong will still benefit from the increasing demand from visitors for transit," Professor Hung said.




This so-called "expert" knows squat. This type of arrangement didn't work for Montreal (Mirabel and Dorval). It hasn't worked for Tokyo (Narita and Haneda). Why on earth does he think it would work for Hong Kong? 

I don't really see Shenzhen airport wanting to play ball with this idea. And the last thing I would want to do is travel to Shenzhen for a domestic flight. hno:


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## hkskyline

I'm also very much against the idea of transiting between 2 airports, especially since Hong Kong's hub role is strongly-tied to the ability to seemlessly move from an international flight to a regional one into China.


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## gladisimo

This idea adds on an extra barrier that the other airports didnt have. Can you imagine how much time would be wasted to go between the 2 airports?


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## pookgai

gladisimo said:


> This idea adds on an extra barrier that the other airports didnt have. Can you imagine how much time would be wasted to go between the 2 airports?


And who foots the bill? The customer! What a ridiculous proposition.

I am all for the link in that HK people and those using HKIA have more choice but HKIA should aim to provide excellent connections to tier 1 and 2 cities where possible to augment its hub status.


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## hkskyline

*Airport rail link may connect to local network *
8 December 2008
South China Morning Post

The planned high-speed rail link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports may hook up with Hong Kong's local railway network in a bid to create a larger pool of passengers and boost development in the northwestern New Territories, sources said.

That means the express rail link, originally planned as a direct link taking just 17 minutes to travel between the two airports, would have a stop connecting it to West Rail.

The stop would be in Yuen Long or Tuen Mun, and the government is looking at which option would offer the best opportunities. Tuen Mun councillors have been mobilising the community to fight for the station to be built there, but a source said the government was leaning towards Yuen Long.

"New developments are planned in Yuen Long and it is close to the [Lok Ma Chau] checkpoint, so it may allow more people to use the rail," a government source said.

A feasibility study on the rail link, which will include information on its route and estimated cost, will be released by the end of this month.

Having a stop in Yuen Long would not only provide people in Futian with a fast track to Chek Lap Kok airport, but it would also allow mainland passengers a shorter trip to centres such as Tsim Sha Tsui.

However, the government is still debating if the station should be built at the same time as the rail link.

"Construction of a rail line takes at least eight to 10 years after it is proposed, so even if early passenger forecasts do not support the construction of a stop, by the time the rail line is finished the situation could be quite different," a government source said.

The idea of a high-speed rail link that will shorten journeys between Chek Lap Kok and Shenzhen Baoan International airport from an hour to about 20 minutes was first proposed by the Bauhinia Foundation, a think-tank close to the government, in August last year.

The express link would not open before 2016 - several years behind an intercity rail link between Shenzhen airport and Guangzhou, expected to begin running in 2011.

The 12.5 billion yuan (HK$14 billion) Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen rail link will connect to the Hong Kong-Shenzhen airport route.

Bauhinia Foundation researcher Zhu Wenhui said the connection would give the airport railway nearly 30 million potential passengers.

"With or without Hong Kong, the railway loop that links up the entire Pearl River Delta will be completed in a few years, so we can hook up or we can be left out," Dr Zhu said.

Law Cheung-kwok, associate director of the Aviation Policy and Research Centre at Chinese University, has warned that the cost of the railway would not be sustainable as there are already many cross-border transport choices offered at Hong Kong airport.


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## f.e.s.b.r.

cool loking airport


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## hkskyline

*Crisis can open doors in hotel *
18 December 2008
Hong Kong Standard

An executive of Hong Kong's newest hotel, which is close to the airport, says the economic crisis may help lure people seeking promotional deals during its grand opening period.

Business can flourish despite the troubled times and a drop in passenger and cargo traffic, according to Robert Jensch, general manager of the 658-room SkyCity Marriott near the airport at Chek Lap Kok.

"I think we will have a good first year,'' he said. ``The downturn could help as grand-opening promotional deals offered until March could price out competitors.

"When times are tough, lower rates matter, and we will have good deals because we are trying to make sure people know about the hotel.''

A central part of the Airport Authority's HK$2 billion SkyCity project, the Marriott there adjoins a new nine-hole golf course as well as shops and restaurants next to AsiaWorld-Expo.

Jensch sees the SkyCity area becoming a transport hub with the completion of the SkyPier and its ferry links to Shenzhen and Macau and the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.

"The Pearl River Delta has a growing economic base, and Hong Kong is the most convenient hub,'' he said.


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## hkskyline

*SkyCity Marriott puts up welcome sign at airport *
15 December 2008
South China Morning Post

Hoteliers are proceeding with projects in Hong Kong and across the border, undaunted by a global slump in corporate travelling and a probable recession in the city next year.

Upmarket United States hotel group Marriott Hotels & Resorts is due to receive its first guest today at the 658-room SkyCity Marriott hotel at Chek Lap Kok airport.

To compete with newcomers including W Hotel at Kowloon Station and the established Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental hotels in Central, SkyCity Marriott is offering package prices from HK$1,688 per room per night until the end of March next year.

"The package rate we charge is a bit less than downtown five-star hotels, which will work at the time of the financial crisis," said Bob Jensch, the general manager of SkyCity Marriott.

The package price, including breakfast and a daily return ticket on the Airport Express train, compares with a room-only rate of HK$1,988 per night at the Four Seasons and HK$1,650 per room per night at the W Hotel.

Mr Jensch expected outbound travel from the mainland to remain strong next year despite the global financial woes and that business travellers from there would represent about half of his hotel's guests.

As a key component of the Airport Authority's HK$2 billion SkyCity project, the new hotel is the latest piece of infrastructure completed among two office towers, shops, restaurants and a golf course on the land adjacent to the AsiaWorld-Expo convention centre.

The new Marriott is the second hotel at the airport, after the Regal Airport hotel.

Mr Jensch expected business to be brisk after the completion of a nearby Skypier ferry terminal next year and the planned Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.

Separately, boutique hotel and serviced apartment operator Lanson Place said room rates might come under pressure in the next 12 to 18 months, but it remained positive on the outlook and would continue to expand its coverage despite the challenging environment.

Vice-chairman Andreas Hofer said the average occupancy rate for its five serviced apartment blocks and hotels in Asia stood at about 90 per cent, at monthly rentals of US$5,000 to US$8,000, and tenants were mainly senior executives with long leases of one to two years.

Lily Ng, a vice-president of hotel consultant firm Jones Lang LaSalle, said business had slowed at hotels in Hong Kong and on the mainland this year as companies tightened travel budgets.

"Fewer people are travelling on business, and those who travel are spending less," she said.

"High-end hotels are experiencing the most impact. Leisure travel has also seen a decline, as people are more cautious about spending on holidays and trips."


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## hkskyline




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## _00_deathscar

That's the new hotel eh? Looks good.


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## Blackraven

Wow

They're directly competing against the REGAL AIRPORT HOTEL there.

Interesting


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## hkskyline

Blackraven said:


> Wow
> 
> They're directly competing against the REGAL AIRPORT HOTEL there.
> 
> Interesting


But the Regal is right next to the terminal, whereas the Marriott is quite a long walk away (I presume there will be a shuttle).


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## hkskyline

*Tim Hamlett's Hong Kong *
A veteran journalist and Baptist University academic, Tim looks at the issues facing the city. 
3 December 2008
South China Morning Post

There has been a steady trickle of mail on the South China Morning Post's letters page calling for an early start to the enlargement of the airport terminal. This is curious. This is not a topic that seems to be much discussed in streets, bars or buses.

Clearly one of two things is happening. It may be that some person or organisation with a stake in an airport extension is organising a surreptitious campaign. Or this may be a popular topic for those English-writing exercises beloved of local schools.

Anyway, readers who wish to make their minds up on this issue will have to do so with no help from me. I do not mind whether they build an extension or not. If they do though, they should make sure that none of the work is entrusted to anyone who was connected with the construction of Terminal 2.

There is a saying in the soft drinks business that it is the last gulp people remember. This was considered a good excuse for keeping the bottles quite small, because this ensured that when you finished the drink, it was still cold. Now, in rather the same way, it does not matter too much what the airport looks like to arriving passengers. Their first impression will soon be swamped by other encounters in Hong Kong.

Actually, the arrival at Chek Lap Kok has none of the drama of the departure. The arrivals hall is under the departure level so you cannot see the roof. The arrival impresses, if it impresses at all, with its efficiency.

Those of us whose thumbprints are known to the Immigration Department can, with luck, be haggling with our illegal taxi driver a mere 30 minutes after the undercarriage hits the tarmac.

For the departing passenger, the airport is a last distinctive encounter with Hong Kong, the one he or she will take away as a lasting memory. This is a happy thought in the case of those passengers who leave through Terminal 1, a signed masterwork by Norman Foster. It manages delightfully to remind you both of a Victorian railway station and a futuristic spaceport, so that according to your mood, you can imagine yourself catching the 7.45 to Bristol Temple Meads or the 9.00 to Mars. The stroll down the main spine is one of Hong Kong's great walks.

I expect we paid a bit extra for Sir Norman's drawings. If you doubt that it was worth it, take a stroll over to Terminal 2, a sort of ghetto used mainly by airlines you have never heard of, flying planes barely bigger than a tunnel bus.

Terminal 2's only claim to fame is that, even by Hong Kong's normal standards, it is seriously ugly. I hesitate to be so rude about someone else's work, but what was the architect thinking? Did he hunch over his workbench at midnight, pouring his heart and soul into the work, cherishing the thought that Terminal 2 would do for him what the Sistine Chapel did for Michelangelo, St Paul's for Christopher Wren? Or did he look inwardly at the greed and indifference of his patrons, who wanted nothing more than a large box filled with the largest possible number of shops?

That, at least, is what they got. The terminal is a station trying to be a shopping mall. Not so much gold-medal architecture as Golden Shopping Arcade. It achieves a unique combination of size and inconvenience. Most of the shops sell expensive women's clothing, so despite their large number, it is difficult to find basic travel requirements. The outside has all the discreet charm of a Bulgarian crematorium; the inside has the warm, engaging atmosphere of a Sham Shui Po public toilet.

Once you have checked in, the shops stop and you walk through bare naked corridors to a small driverless underground train. This takes you across to Fosterburg, but you do not see much of Sir Norman's efforts. You are directed to a large underlit hall that looks like a bus station waiting room.

And this, in effect, is what it is. Small, unfashionable airliners are not allowed to nuzzle the teats of the main terminal. They are marooned on a windswept wasteland near the control tower. You reach them by bus and board in the old Casablanca style via a set of mobile steps. Frankly, this is a thoroughly depressing experience, especially for those of us who have done it the other way. What first-time visitors make of it, I hate to think.

What is to be done? I suppose we could try to pick up the bygone-days theme, put the ground staff in '40s uniforms and insist that the unfashionable airlines deploy craft with propellers. Or airships.

Clearly it is too late to demolish the whole tragic mess and start again. But let us at least avoid making the same mistake twice. We have seen what the Terminal 2 team can do and it is horrible. Let someone else have a go.


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## hkskyline

Satellite terminal U/C By *3339* from HKADB - 27 December


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## hkskyline

1/31 - Marriott


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## hkskyline

*機管局研新跑道 擬年中提報告 *
11 February 2009
香港經濟日報

【本報訊】機場管理局行政總裁許漢忠表示，香港是否興建第3條跑道，預期顧問將於今年中就整體規劃提交報告。

另外，盡管去年全年計客運及貨運數據似乎持平，但他指出，金融海嘯的打擊於年初始浮現，他希望這僅是中短期的困難，並指基礎建設大方向並無影響。

去年數據持平 未反映海嘯衝擊

機管局2008年全年計，貨運及客運分別跌3.1%及上升1.7%，但首季數字並不樂觀。由於航空公司經營困難，許漢忠指有人提出要求機管局調減起降費並不奇怪，但因涉及公帑，機管局雖無既定立場，但始㚵要顧慮社會大眾。

他表示，由2000年至今，機管局的起降費一直有15%的優惠。

早前有報道指內地海南航空持有的香港航空及香港快運，拖欠機管局停泊及起降費，涉及5,000萬元。許漢忠表示，所涉金額未及5,000萬元，但希望欠款數目可不斷降低。

許漢忠形容機管局於2003年公布的發展計劃，至今已完成得「七七八八」。至於香港是否興建第3條跑道，顧問將於今年中就整體規劃提交報告。

不過，就興建第3條跑道而委任外界顧問就環境影響及工程等可行性報告，於去年已展開，須於2010年才會完成。


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## hkskyline

By *gazer88* from HKADB :


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## hkskyline

*Expo boss aims for center stage *
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, March 24, 2009

It may be a little way from the city center, but AsiaWorld-Expo is going the distance in a bid to grab a slice of the exhibition market. 

Apart from making travel to and from the venue easier and improving its amenities, the convention and exhibition center on Lantau has already lined up three public shows this year, hosting the Asia International Arts and Antiques Fair in May, and the International Pet and Accessory Expo and Family Expo between July 31 and August 2.

Chief executive Allen Ha Wing-on told The Standard there is room for the venue to develop as a consumer trading platform rather than only hosting business-to-business events. 

He noted the success of the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo in Victoria Park last December, which drew 2.16 million people and HK$270 million in business over its three weeks. He also praised the computer festival and IT show in Sham Shui Po in December, which attracted 450,000 people and a turnover of HK$230 million in only four days.

AsiaWorld-Expo has partnered with the Citybus and Long Win bus companies to provide two nonstop express routes between Tsim Sha Tsui and Tai Wan on days when concerts, large- scale conferences and public exhibitions are being held. Tickets are HK$22 and HK$26.20 for a single trip. The cost of an Airport Express same- day round-trip from Hong Kong Station has been cut to HK$48.

Ha said Hong Kong should consolidate its position as a leading meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition hub to take advantage of a decline in exhibitions at American and European convention cities. "Right now it's time for Hong Kong to focus on branding itself and improving the quality of MICE services," he said.

Although he admitted that some trade shows cancelled their events, bookings overall are still satisfactory. 

The center is including more value-added services in its packages to attract high-quality events. "We don't want just any shows. We want convention-goers to relate Hong Kong with professional and high-quality shows. The Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress is among the highly prestigious shows we need to retain," Ha said. 

It has also converted one hall into a conference room and enlarged its food and beverage department to accommodate expanding meetings and hospitality services, including wedding banquets.


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## hkskyline

*AsiaWorld-Expo says time ripe to expand its facilities *
23 April 2009
China Daily - Hong Kong Edition

HONG KONG: Studies should now be undertaken on the feasibility of expanding the convention and exhibition complex adjacent to Hong Kong's airport, AsiaWorld-Expo Management Ltd Chief Executive Officer Allen Ha said yesterday.

He said the company, which operates the complex, expects to generate more business activity as work on several major infrastructure projects, close to the airport, get completed over the coming years.

These projects include the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen airport link.

"We expect to generate more business after the completion of this bridge," he said.

"We should now actively explore possibilities for expansion (of our facilities) with infrastructure projects set for completion ahead," he said.

He said international trade fairs at the AsiaWorld-Expo complex accounted for about 30 percent of the total convention and exhibition business generated by Hong Kong in 2007.

Events held at AsiaWorld-Expo provided some HK$8 billion in economic benefits to the city in that year.

Ha said AsiaWorld-Expo has been ready for expansion since the complex started operating in 2006.

Under proposed expansion for the complex, six exhibition halls, covering 100,000 square meters, are to be added to existing premises. The proposed expansion has met the environmental and town planning specifications, Ha said.

The construction of the first phase of the exhibition venue, covering 70,000 square meters of area, cost HK$2.35 billion.

Ha said government approval is necessary to kick off any expansion.

The time is ripe to study ways and means of expanding AsiaWorld-Expo's premises, he said.

He said travel time between Hong Kong's airport and Zhuhai will be cut to 30 minutes after the completion of a bridge linking the city to Zhuhai and Macao.

This will help boost the volume of trade exhibition activity that the complex will generate, he said.

Sarah Benecke, executive director of events organizer Global Sources, said AsiaWorld-Expo already needs an expansion of its existing premises.

More than 70 percent of the exhibitors at events held at AsiaWorld-Expo are from China, especially the southern provinces.

"It takes two years of planning to develop a new show," she said. "If we don't know what space is available, it is difficult for us to plan."

She added that other mainland cities, such as Shenzhen and Shanghai, are also rapidly strengthening their trade exhibition businesses.

Global Sources General manager Tommy Wong said their firm has recorded a 35 percent year-on-year increase in the number of exhibitors who will participate in a trade fair that will showcase baby and child products.

He said the market for baby and children products will remain vibrant even as parents tighten their spending on their children's needs even amid a global recession.


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## hkskyline

*學者指港英政府當日錯誤選址 埋下惡果*
20 April 2009
信報 

香港機場是否興建第三條跑道成為目前棘手的問題，也勾起當日興建機場時就選址問題引發的激烈爭拗。令人不禁提出港英政府選擇在赤鱲角興建機場是否一個錯誤？

屬政治選擇

其實，早在一九九二年機場正式動工之前，本港不少學者就已經向當時港英政府提出，選址赤鱲角建設國際機場並不客觀科學，認為可以選擇在新界興建。後來事實證明，隨著航線的增多、飛機種類的變化，機場的局限逐漸顯現。

浸會大學當代中國研究所教授、機場問題研究專家薛鳳旋，也是當時反對選址的學者之一，他表示，選址赤鱲角是一項政治選擇，香港其實有不止一處地方適合興建國際機場，而港英政府不願意另選他處，是因為一旦重新選址，牽涉繁瑣複雜的前期調查研究工作，這樣機場興建工程必定不能在一九九七年前完工。

耗資二百億美元，面積是啟德舊機場四倍的赤鱲角機場，是港英政府在一九八九年十月，在港督衛奕信施政報告中提出，預計在一九九七年六月三十日前竣工啟用。因為工程花費耗大，當時中央政府已明確表態，希望香港的基建量力而行，不能「你請客，我付錢」。薛鳳旋就形容，赤鱲角機場是全世界最昂貴的機場，機場所有工程及設置，其建造價格都為市場價格的一至二倍，「當時英國人一定要趕在九七回歸前把機場建好，就是看重這筆龐大的施建利潤。」事隔十多年，薛鳳旋依然憤憤不平地說。

浮動跑道造價昂貴

興建第三條跑道現在要付出沉重的代價，可以說正是當日種下的苦果。目前香港機場的南、北跑道相隔約一公里，各長三千八百米，闊六十米，如果新跑道規模相若，保守估計，填海面積最少為二十三公頃，相等於一點四個維多利亞公園。

中山大學港澳珠三角研究所教授鄭天祥就表示，過去香港興建二條機場跑道要花費數百億元，現在投資費用肯定有增無減，第三條跑道因為涉及深海填海，工程造價也可能高達七百億元。

民航署前署長樂鞏南也曾估計，新跑道起碼等於機場第一期工程的五百億元。有學者甚至不排除造價可能高達一千億元。

日本和美國正計劃在日本沖繩修建一條大型軍用海上浮動飛機跑道，造價達到五千億日圓（折合港幣逾三百九十億元）。假設將來香港機場第三條跑道採用浮動的形式，民用機場跑道的標準相應提高後，造價也肯定昂貴很多。

建第三條跑道意見不一

對於香港是否應該興建第三條跑道，學者持有不同的意見。香港中文大學航空政策研究中心馮嘉耀教授相信，香港機場在國際網路和管理優勢方面，是廣州白雲機場難以比擬的。不過，讓他擔心的是，香港機場正面臨日趨飽和的難題， 故贊同應興建第三跑道。

不過，薛鳳旋則認為，沒有必要。他解釋道，香港機場雖然在工程條件上可以修建四條跑道，然而，一個被忽略的問題是，跑道能建，但空域不夠。「再增加一條跑道，使用率只會增至一點六至一點七條，等於讓耗資百億元的跑道天天曬太陽。」薛鳳旋進一步解釋說，從工程的角度，興建第三條跑道需要進行深海填海，不僅阻滯航道，而且影響海洋生物環境，日後將出現諸多後遺症。他相信，建第三條跑道反會因為成本高昂而降低競爭力■


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## spicytimothy

I guess in this 薛鳳旋's opinion HKG should probably become a regional and like Guangzhou be the only int'l airport. What a load.


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## hkskyline

I still don't see how a region with so many people can only support 1 major international airport. This is not a 1 and only 1 question.


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## spicytimothy

I agree. If the population of east coast US needs all these airports that already exist, plus a constant demand for expansions, I don't see why the Pearl River Delta can only sustain 1. 

And the argument that the sky is too crowded is so bogus. By her logic the entire northeast US should only have JFK, and maybe the entire southern England should only have LHR.


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## vvill

EricIsHim said:


> ^^^ not necessarily agree with both of you.
> ok, the passengers need to be shuttled from the main terminal to the north concourse. that's a two minutes ride for your hours of journey. big deal. it isn't like we don't do that today with 70 or so boarding gates. some airlines still choose to park their planes out in the airfield for lower parking cost, and shuttle passengers to/from the main terminal to the parking spot like the "OLD" days. it's just a wrong impression by people everyone boards through a bridge. but now we have a terminal for those airlines and passengers. which way is better? shuttle to the plane and walk up the stairs over a truck? or shuttle to the terminal, take the escalator, then broad through a bridge?
> 
> building a new satellite terminal like changqi is a whole new ball game.
> it isn't just the boarding gates, but now you are asking for new check-in spaces, new baggage handling facilities, and new external transportation services for that terminal of TEN spaces. worthy? and where would you put it? chek lap kok is an island reclaimed from sea and two small islands. the airport island was reclaimed just barely fit all facilities on it. eastern part of the island is mainly for passenger service; and southern part are cargo services and logistic. the runway and airfield are bounded by passenger service to the east, cargo service to the south, and water to the west and north. unless we reclaim more from the water, which is big money, there is no room to construct another facility on the perimeter. and you aren't going to want this facility away form the airfield perimeter.
> 
> by having those low-cost carrier passengers remain to check-in at the built terminals, it doesn't require new check-in spaces, new baggage facilities and new supportive transportation system. now everything will still be the same roof and processed through the main terminal, and the state-of-the-art baggage handling system we have at HKIA. there is no different between transporting the baggage from the existing baggage center to the existing parking spots at terminal 1, than transporting the baggage to the new spot at the north concourse. to the transporter, it's just shipping to another spot in the airfield.
> 
> Terminal 2 is designed to relieve the overcrowded check-in counters in Terminal 1. it has never had a intention for boarding. yes, it's rather empty today; but it's designed to suit for FUTURE capacity that are expected in the coming years. airlines are slowly moving into Terminal 2 in the past two years, and more will be there.
> 
> there is very limited spaces in terminal 1. where can AA expand the check-in concourse. to the north is the carpark and regal hotel, immediate to the east is the highway and railway, to the west is the main building. only expanding to the south is a possible solution. but how much you can expand from there? extra 5 rows?
> 
> again, expanding the check-in concourse doesn't solve the overcrowded situation, but only further stretch the limit with more check-in counters and passengers at terminal 1. building a new satellite terminal for check-in and a cross-boarder bus terminal immediate north of terminal 1 is the most convenient solution. this solves the terminal 1 check-in concourse problem, and still utilizes everything that are built for terminal 1. from the airport express, bus terminal, baggage handling facilities, boarding gates etc.
> it also expands the opportunities for an easily accessed cross-boarder bus terminal to expand the service area to include the whole pearl river delta.


I understand what you're saying regarding the n. satellite terminal. However, I still struggle to understand why a world-acclaimed airport can have a terminal which is only connected to the main terminal via bus. To me, bus just seems to be a temporary measure and it is making the boarding procedure more and more confusing to passengers, which is essentially what HKIA strives to avoid.

I'll give you one simple scenario, a low-cost carrier will probably have their check-in counters in T2. So you check-in at T2, then get on the ATM to get to T1 but you're not there yet, you needa get to the transfer gate to get onto the bus and then get to the low-cost terminal (which they may call it T1b?). Isn't that just sound extremely confusing already? What was great about HKIA is that everything is under one roof and they should work towards it. 

That's essentially why I said they should have a separate building with immigration and all that lot for the low-cost carriers. The cost is not exactly as expensive as you think it might be because it is literally a shed and no one's gonna downgrade HKIA's rating because it is for the budget carriers (but they may because now you have to do the bus transfer to another terminal). Look at changi, their budget terminal only cost them around HKD100m which comes in a lot cheaper than the north satellite terminal (part of the HKD4.5 billion upgrade programme)

Regarding T2, I can see the reason for it but I see it as good intentions but poorly executed. What I find it disappointing is essentially the quality of design and construction which make the terminal resembles more of a shopping mall than a top-notch airport. The layout and the design of the shop fronts are horrendous (even compared to skymart in T1). Also architecturally, it just looks like a massive steel shed from outside. It lacks the airiness and the sculptural quality of the roof of T1. 

Part of the reasons is because the designer is simply not good enough. I mean look at what Aedas' done before - they're reasonably good architects but they simply aren't good enough to design airports (like Fosters or Rogers). And we're talking about the best airport in the world here and we certainly deserve something better than just a mediocre terminal designed by Aedas. (btw, they're actually designing the north satellite terminal as well) AA should really do something about this - either by hosting international competitions to raise the standard.

Honestly, I think rocco design would probably do a better job in this because at least they have more of a rigour to be inventive and push new boundaries. (look at Aedas' design for the Tamar government HQ project - it's appalling!)


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## vvill

also here's the picture showing the 'lump' suspended in the middle of the hall stretching the full length of it (which again looks rather temporary to me: (but it's been there for about 1-2 years now?)

sorry i dont really wanna come across as attacking the airport in a bullish way. i guess im just frustrated because i was and i hope i still am proud of it.


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## EricIsHim

vvill said:


> I understand what you're saying regarding the n. satellite terminal. However, I still struggle to understand why a world-acclaimed airport can have a terminal which is only connected to the main terminal via bus. To me, bus just seems to be a temporary measure and it is making the boarding procedure more and more confusing to passengers, which is essentially what HKIA strives to avoid.
> 
> I'll give you one simple scenario, a low-cost carrier will probably have their check-in counters in T2. So you check-in at T2, then get on the ATM to get to T1 but you're not there yet, you needa get to the transfer gate to get onto the bus and then get to the low-cost terminal (which they may call it T1b?). Isn't that just sound extremely confusing already? What was great about HKIA is that everything is under one roof and they should work towards it.
> 
> That's essentially why I said they should have a separate building with immigration and all that lot for the low-cost carriers. The cost is not exactly as expensive as you think it might be because it is literally a shed and no one's gonna downgrade HKIA's rating because it is for the budget carriers (but they may because now you have to do the bus transfer to another terminal). Look at changi, their budget terminal only cost them around HKD100m which comes in a lot cheaper than the north satellite terminal (part of the HKD4.5 billion upgrade programme)


i am not an architect, it's just not my expertise. so i won't argue in how good or bad they look in T2. 
but changqi has the land to build a third terminal on the airport perimeter in proximity to the other passenger terminals, hkia doesn't. i am sure if we have that option, we may have gone for it; but since we don't, we have to make an adjustment for alternative solution.
if this building ever existed, it wouldn't be served by the airport express directly and it requires airport buses for diversions increasing the journey time as well. it is far less convenient to get to/from the airport than just having the main terminal(s).

buses may not look as fancy as having a APM between terminals, but they are just as efficient. no way anyone is putting an underground APM on reclaimed land for a budget airline terminal with 10 gates. when we ever build the X-shape center terminal in the middle of the island, than i would say an APM is the choice since it's a much bigger terminal. An APM for ten gates just doesn't sound financially and economically reasonable.

i agree that may be troublesome for the travellers to go down and up and down and up, but with proper signage, this can eliminate the confusion. HKIA has done very well and known for designing its directory signage. those gates in the north satellite can be easily assigned as the continuation of the last number of existing boarding gate. the signage would just say "gate xx-xx", there is not much different than follow "gate 33-70" to the APM system. it just point you to the shuttle bus station, and towards the new terminal instead.

personally, i prefer to go for less numbers of check-in terminals than multiple locations. i always find it's much more confusing to find the correct terminal for the appropriate airline for check-in than find the correct terminal for boarding. it is much harder to find the terminal number on a list of airlines than find the gate with an boarding terminal alphabet and/or gate number.


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## EricIsHim

vvill said:


> also here's the picture showing the 'lump' suspended in the middle of the hall stretching the full length of it (which again looks rather temporary to me: (but it's been there for about 1-2 years now?)
> 
> sorry i dont really wanna come across as attacking the airport in a bullish way. i guess im just frustrated because i was and i hope i still am proud of it.


that's probably for building electrical and mechanical.
can't tell if it's temp. or permenant, but it does look awful when you stare at it.... 
well..... hardly ever anyone looks up when s/he just walks out from immigration and find the right belt; or stare at that thing when waiting for the baggage and not let the bags pass you.

but i feel your pain, i complain a lot in my expertise, too. :lol:
you do that only if you love the place, otherwise it would just be whatever.


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## vvill

EricIsHim said:


> i am not an architect, it's just not my expertise. so i won't argue in how good or bad they look in T2.
> but changqi has the land to build a third terminal on the airport perimeter in proximity to the other passenger terminals, hkia doesn't. i am sure if we have that option, we may have gone for it; but since we don't, we have to make an adjustment for alternative solution.
> if this building ever existed, it wouldn't be served by the airport express directly and it requires airport buses for diversions increasing the journey time as well. it is far less convenient to get to/from the airport than just having the main terminal(s).
> 
> buses may not look as fancy as having a APM between terminals, but they are just as efficient. no way anyone is putting an underground APM on reclaimed land for a budget airline terminal with 10 gates. when we ever build the X-shape center terminal in the middle of the island, than i would say an APM is the choice since it's a much bigger terminal. An APM for ten gates just doesn't sound financially and economically reasonable.
> 
> i agree that may be troublesome for the travellers to go down and up and down and up, but with proper signage, this can eliminate the confusion. HKIA has done very well and known for designing its directory signage. those gates in the north satellite can be easily assigned as the continuation of the last number of existing boarding gate. the signage would just say "gate xx-xx", there is not much different than follow "gate 33-70" to the APM system. it just point you to the shuttle bus station, and towards the new terminal instead.
> 
> personally, i prefer to go for less numbers of check-in terminals than multiple locations. i always find it's much more confusing to find the correct terminal for the appropriate airline for check-in than find the correct terminal for boarding. it is much harder to find the terminal number on a list of airlines than find the gate with an boarding terminal alphabet and/or gate number.


i see your point regarding land shortage of HKIA. 

i guess it's all about long-term planning and i do hope they're not trying to avoid sorting out the long-term shortage of space and limitation for expansion by making small moves of building small and not very well-designed terminals to tackle short-term problems while missing the vision for the future 20, 30 years down the line, ie we do need the x satellite terminal (a section of the 'x' can easily be allocated for low-cost and narrow-body carriers) and we do need a third runway. 

nevertheless, it's rather pointless to say that now cos the north terminal is obviously getting built and is nearing completion. Fingers-crossed they'll get the design right and the signage right i just really don't wanna see the airport deteriorating!


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## Rachmaninov

Architect vs engineer eh?

I guess budget airline passengers wouldn't complain if they have to get a bus to a terminal before boarding a plane on a proper bridge? They normally board via bus anyway... I have to agree that the north concourse looks... ordinary, to put it in a positive wording...

But it certainly surprises me that the HKIA it's only been opened for around 12 years and then there's already the problem of land shortage and runway capacity... Being a selfish HKer of course I'd like to see a third runway coming soon, but is it really a sustainable solution given that there are quite a few airports around the region? Planes awaiting clearance to land burn a lot of fuel and it probably is more sustainable just to let them land at SZ for example and then take the rail to HK if they must. In fact, I believe this is inevitable...


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## vvill

EricIsHim said:


> that's probably for building electrical and mechanical.
> can't tell if it's temp. or permenant, but it does look awful when you stare at it....
> well..... hardly ever anyone looks up when s/he just walks out from immigration and find the right belt; or stare at that thing when waiting for the baggage and not let the bags pass you.
> 
> but i feel your pain, i complain a lot in my expertise, too. :lol:
> you do that only if you love the place, otherwise it would just be whatever.


it does look rather temporary to me but it's been there for 2 years now so i guess its permanent!

i know - but some people do look up - and perfection is what makes HKIA stand out from its competitors. obviosuly, it must be because of certain technical reasons they have to put that thing up there (and im not gonna debate that) - but surely they can do a better job 'designing' it and make it more of a feature than simply a grey box like that. 

also sometimes, yes probably not everyone's gonna 'stare' at it but everything contributes towards the experience of a particular space. (ie. the main departure hall won't necessary feel airy if it's got windows on both sides, it needs the white vaulted roof, the height and all that) same applies to the baggage claims hall, it is probably the least successful space in HKIA but it's vast because it is a big room with very little interruptions and it simply expresses efficiency. Now that lump dilutes the idea and im sure if they have consulted the original architect, it would not have been done in the same way.


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## Rachmaninov

vvill said:


> it does look rather temporary to me but it's been there for 2 years now so i guess its permanent!
> 
> i know - but some people do look up - and perfection is what makes HKIA stand out from its competitors. obviosuly, it must be because of certain technical reasons they have to put that thing up there (and im not gonna debate that) - but surely they can do a better job 'designing' it and make it more of a feature than simply a grey box like that.
> 
> also sometimes, yes probably not everyone's gonna 'stare' at it but everything contributes towards the experience of a particular space. (ie. the main departure hall won't necessary feel airy if it's got windows on both sides, it needs the white vaulted roof, the height and all that) same applies to the baggage claims hall, it is probably the least successful space in HKIA but it's vast because it is a big room with very little interruptions and it simply expresses efficiency. Now that lump dilutes the idea and im sure if they have consulted the original architect, it would not have been done in the same way.


I noticed that too - it's simply visually obstrusive. I guess they're cables and ventilation. You know... civil engineers design "crap" stuff but mechanical / electrical engineers don't design at all!

Maybe the best thing to do is not to look up or you'll be sad. It's just like me not listening to pop songs or I'll be sad.


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## vvill

Rachmaninov said:


> Architect vs engineer eh?
> 
> I guess budget airline passengers wouldn't complain if they have to get a bus to a terminal before boarding a plane on a proper bridge? They normally board via bus anyway... I have to agree that the north concourse looks... ordinary, to put it in a positive wording...
> 
> But it certainly surprises me that the HKIA it's only been opened for around 12 years and then there's already the problem of land shortage and runway capacity... Being a selfish HKer of course I'd like to see a third runway coming soon, but is it really a sustainable solution given that there are quite a few airports around the region? Planes awaiting clearance to land burn a lot of fuel and it probably is more sustainable just to let them land at SZ for example and then take the rail to HK if they must. In fact, I believe this is inevitable...



haha keith, i hope i don't sound like an architect whinging about very little things on here. lol. 

re third runway - i think id rather be selfish and have that built rather than letting SZ take the share. it is a competitive world out there - sooner or later GZ will have enough international flights and they already have good domestic connections - people will just fly via GZ to connect to other mainland cities. why would they choose HKIA and pay an extra HKD120 (think that's what i read - correct me if wrong) and extra 30 minutes to get on the train to change for a different flight in SZ. we're talking about transit passengers here and i just don't see it. 

in the long run, hong kong will certainly integrate a lot more with the mainland counterparts and the domestic sector will grow (consequently, third runway is needed) and it is really undermining our potentials by giving away such potential and letting SZ help us out which ultimately, i don't think this 'co-operation' can compete with GZ.

and i do think this applies to a lot of hk-mainland issues, our government's just being too kind and too modest.


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## Rachmaninov

vvill said:


> haha keith, i hope i don't sound like an architect whinging about very little things on here. lol.
> 
> re third runway - i think id rather be selfish and have that built rather than letting SZ take the share. it is a competitive world out there - sooner or later GZ will have enough international flights and they already have good domestic connections - people will just fly via GZ to connect to other mainland cities. why would they choose HKIA and pay an extra HKD120 (think that's what i read - correct me if wrong) and extra 30 minutes to get on the train to change for a different flight in SZ. we're talking about transit passengers here and i just don't see it.
> 
> in the long run, hong kong will certainly integrate a lot more with the mainland counterparts and the domestic sector will grow (consequently, third runway is needed) and it is really undermining our potentials by giving away such potential and letting SZ help us out which ultimately, i don't think this 'co-operation' can compete with GZ.
> 
> and i do think this applies to a lot of hk-mainland issues, our government's just being too kind and too modest.


ok! let's be selfish then 
I just wanted to have some convincing argument to overwhelm my guilt lol


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## vvill

better pictures showing the before and after of the lump:

before









after









... wanna scream looking at this!


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## urbanfan89

Will there be direct trains between, say, the West Kowloon Terminal and the Shenzhen Airport? How about between HKIA and Guangzhou? It will be a waste not to have one.


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## EricIsHim

Rachmaninov said:


> Architect vs engineer eh?


:lol::lol:
isn't it the reality??
my colleagues and me always complains about the architects we deal with who "design" the impossible and we have to fix their mess; and even worse, they don't listen and repeatedly using the same crap over and over again....

no offense here, vvill. 



Rachmaninov said:


> But it certainly surprises me that the HKIA it's only been opened for around 12 years and then there's already the problem of land shortage and runway capacity... Being a selfish HKer of course I'd like to see a third runway coming soon, but is it really a sustainable solution given that there are quite a few airports around the region? Planes awaiting clearance to land burn a lot of fuel and it probably is more sustainable just to let them land at SZ for example and then take the rail to HK if they must. In fact, I believe this is inevitable...


don't forget, this whole airport was planned, designed and built in like 10-15 years...... this kind of efficiency was completely done under political pressure. back then, engineers and planners probably just designed with what they think it needs to be at the minimal, two runways with big cargo and passenger terminals. so we built two runways with the biggest cargo and passenger terminals in the world. and nobody expected PRD would develop in such an extreme rate in the past 15 years. it was really quite a surprise for manys. 

as a hker, i would rather be selfish, and build that 3rd runway, than we still have the chance to compete. but without it, we will be going nowhere for sure and be taken over very soon. unless there is a political press, i can't see GZ not catching up and surpass hk in the future. the 3rd runway will make us sustainable. GZ can expand the airport whatever way the want. i remember when it opened, its cargos terminal facility was like 10 or 20% of its designed size, but it's already something like 50% or some high percentage of HKIA's. we will not win in hardware, it's always in the software side.

There was an article in Sing Tao on Thursday on this topic.


> 深港「同機場化」與「同城化」
> (星島)2009年5月7日 星期四 06:30
> 
> (綜合報道)
> 
> 深港機場鐵路的初步研究結果下月將提交兩地政府。兩地機場互換股權一體化的談判，近日傳出胎死腹中，深港機鐵計畫標誌兩地機場仍然有相當大的合作互利空間。兩地鐵 路網絡的進一步貫通，也有助整合兩地經濟實力，建立港深超級大都會，甚至輻射 到整個珠三角 ，關鍵是類似「研究」，會不會又一拖經年，令香港再錯過時機。
> 
> 中央為免珠三角五個機場惡性競爭，促使五個機場的首腦於兩個月前聚集廣州，為五個機場的發展定位。當中可以擔當樞紐角色的，只有廣州白雲機場和香港赤鱲角機場，當中指明要維護香港機場的國際航運中心地位，鞏固其國際樞紐機場地位。
> 
> 深圳 議價能力不低
> 
> 深圳機場一向以廣州和香港機場為主要競爭對手。從深圳貨櫃港發展的歷史，可以看到機場他日趕過香港的可能。今天深圳機場內地航綫之多，航班之密，香港機場已是望塵莫及。深圳機場又發展了東南亞等地區的熱點航綫，兩年前夥拍了新加坡 拓展內地中小型機場網絡，國內國外都有大展拳腳的鴻圖。
> 
> 本來，深港機場一體化管理，最能發揮協同效應，提高營運效益。可惜，管理雙方機場的企業，在合併條件方面談不攏。現在中央分配了角色，但深圳機場是否放棄衝出亞洲的美夢，仍然未能確定，相對而言，廣州機場有更大的發展國內外航綫潛力。深圳機場要保持競爭力，就要借助香港機場的國際航綫網絡優勢，而香港機場又可利用深圳機場的國內航班優勢，互補長短，共同面對廣州機場的挑戰。
> 
> 除了轉機客之外，深圳機場國內航綫多、班次密、票價廉，早已吸引愈來愈多港人使用，乘搭直通巴士來往，佔當地內陸航班客量的百分之一。將來深港機鐵在深圳和香港各設一個中途站，香港這邊透過洪水橋站接通全港鐵路網絡，將吸引更多港客乘搭火車過境去深圳搭飛機，估計兩地機場的國際和國內航綫分工會更趨明顯。
> 
> 香港不能一廂情願
> 
> 作為連接兩地的第三條鐵路通道，深港機鐵大大方便兩地西部居民來往，配合中央不斷放寬深圳居民來往香港的政策，預計兩地的生活條件和文化差距會日漸縮小，朝「同城化」的方向發展，香港和珠三角關係日趨密切，減低邊緣化的威脅。
> 
> 現時內地不少大城市都在擴張版圖，吞併附近縣市，加強經濟實力，廣州和佛山同城化是一例。港深同城化應該是大勢所趨，但兩地有如深港機場在「誰吞併誰」的問題上難有共識，無法如廣州和佛山般合併一體，現在兩地機場有合作方案，但如果股權合作落空，香港再不能一廂情願，當局能否爭取主動地位，暫時仍然只能走着瞧。


Quoted from: http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/090506/3/c1wt.html


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## EricIsHim

vvill said:


> haha keith, i hope i don't sound like an architect whinging about very little things on here. lol.


haha wait until there is a technical issue. keith and me will tear the problem apart, too.


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## EricIsHim

urbanfan89 said:


> Will there be direct trains between, say, the West Kowloon Terminal and the Shenzhen Airport? How about between HKIA and Guangzhou? It will be a waste not to have one.


there will be a high speed rail between wast kowloon and guangzhou, and another HSR between HKIA and SZ airport. The HKIA<>SZA line will also stop at the SZ HSR station where can transfer train to the GZ line.


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## hkskyline

*第三跑道的經濟評估*
14 May 2009
信報 

特區政府正推動不少基建工程，其中一些項目有望提升本地航空業競爭力。首先，籌備已久的港珠澳大橋可將本地航空業腹地擴展至珠三角西部。通過大橋，往來香港至珠三角西部城市（中山、珠海、江門）和澳門的距離大大縮短，可為香港航空業帶來不少貨流和客流。另一方面，探討中的港深機場鐵路不但可加強兩地機場整合，可能引發兩地機場分工；同時可提升香港機場來往深圳的連繫，可望提高珠三角東部至香港國際機場的客流。雖然經濟短期受壓，但亞洲和中國的長遠增長動力，仍為航空業界注視。根據不同業界（空中巴士、波音、ACI等）發表的市場預測，亞太航空市場在未來二十年的平均增長率將可達6%以上，增長速度將遠高於全球增長率。中國是亞太地區增長表現最佳國家：根據IMF的經濟預測顯示，中國實質生產總值在2000年至 07年間以接近10%年增長率上升，其實質生產總值已上升超過一倍。雖然全球經濟已步入衰退，但IMF在經濟預測中，仍認為中國於2009年可維持高增長。因應中國經濟強勁增長動力，波音公司和空中巴士公司認為中國民航市場未來二十年間將可以年率超過8%增長。事實上，中國主要國際樞紐機場的客運量和貨運量正高速增長，香港面對龐大競爭壓力。作為中國主要門戶和樞紐機場，香港有可能把握中國急速增長的機會，令香港航空業享受難得的發展機遇。然而，香港航空業能否應付未來增長急速的需求？

經濟效益高中大航空政策研究中心於2007年發表一份有關香港國際機場投資第三跑道的研究，其中認為若根據官方宣布的機場容量計算，如機場航機次數以每年3%增長，機場將於2013年達至飽和。若民航處能提升航空管理和控制效率，可以平均每小時處理八十架機次，如機場航機次數以每年3%增長，機場將會於2020年飽和；若機場航機次數以5%增長，機場將會於2015年飽和。我們參考了外國一些經驗，機場擴展需要頗長時間完成，其中包括財務、經濟和環境評估，加上公眾諮詢和政治協商過程，由規劃至落成可能需要長達十二年時間。若根據保守每年航機次數增長率（即3%），加上民航處能處理每小時機次達八十架次計算，假設現在正式開始規劃，第三跑道將不能於飽和期出現前落成；若以每年5%增長率計算，機場則可能於六至七年內飽和。由於規劃需時，就算現時正式開始籌建第三跑道，香港仍可能要面對五至七年運量飽和期。中大航空政策研究中心曾就航空業對香港經濟貢獻作出估計。以05年數據為例，航空業為香港帶來直接得益達400億元，佔生產總值超過3%。另一方面，航空業為香港帶來間接得益達700億元以上，佔生產總值超過5%。若以05年航機次數為基數，每架航機為香港帶來直接得益達17萬元，而間接得益約28萬元，總得益接近45萬元。在有關第三跑道的經濟評估中，假設每架航機可為香港帶來上述總得益，基於不同需求增長和容量增加假定，以推算第三跑道可為香港帶來的經濟效益。經濟評估假設第三跑道於2019年落成，對容量增加則決定於第三跑道的設計方案。如第三跑道可將機場容量上升20%，即每年約可處理航機次數達五十萬架次。附表列出在上述容量假設下，對應着不同需求增長預測所帶來的經濟效益。如需求年增長率只有3%，2020年可令香港多處理航機架次多達八千七百之數，可為香港帶來約15億元直接得益、24億元間接得益，總得益將接近39億元。基於上述假設，於2025年可為香港多處理航機架次多達七萬六千之數，能為香港帶來約130億元直接得益、210億元間接得益，總得益將接近340億元。若需求年增長率達7%，2020年可為香港多處理航機架次多達六萬之數，可為香港帶來約100億元直接得益、170億元間接得益，總得益將接近270億元。以上述假設推算於2025年，將可為香港多處理航機架次多達八萬三千之數，能為香港帶來約140億元直接得益、230億元間接得益，總得益將接近370億元。當然，上述推算基於2005年數據，每架航機為香港帶來約44萬元的效益，若2020年或2025年經濟結構有顯著差別，上述效益或須作出修正。若未來香港和廣州競爭劇烈，航空業效益可能需要向下調整。保守而言，若真正效益能達上述推算的一半，第三跑道所帶來的經濟效益仍然不能忽視。

破壞環境當然經濟評估不能只計算利益而不顧成本。興建第三跑道會破壞環境，不幸地同一水域將興建港珠澳大橋和港深機場鐵路。興建第三跑道對水域的環境破壞，可能不是單一性，而是多項大型基建工程的累積性影響，環境評估將是一主要挑戰。另一方面，研究報告利用歐盟數據，對空氣污染成本作出推算。若第三跑道可增加機場20%容量，在需求以年增長率3%推算，額外空氣污染成本於2020年約 73萬歐羅至350萬歐羅之數；於2025年約為2000萬歐羅至1億歐羅。若需求以7%增長推算，額外空氣污染成本於2020年，約為740萬歐羅至 3600萬歐羅；於2025年，則為4000萬歐羅至2億歐羅。雖然額外空氣污染成本不算是小數目，但和收益數字比較，第三跑道的經濟效益仍然十分顯著。 NATS發表一份有關香港機場容量的研究報告，雖然他們認為機場容量可通過一些方法得以提升，但仍判斷香港機場已接近飽和水平。同時，不同基建項目將提升香港國際機場往來珠三角的連繫性，若中國經濟增長勢頭不變，相信香港國際機場有一定迫切性進行第三跑道投資。當然，環境破壞將為未來公眾諮詢的主要考慮因素。希望各持份者理解第三跑道對香港航空業競爭力的重要性，從而令該項基建盡快開展。 中大航空政策研究中心 中大利豐供應鏈管理研究中心


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## Rachmaninov

Thanks for posting
I think you merged some headings to the paragraphs into the text!!!


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## EricIsHim

^^ All it's talking about... "build that damn 3rd runway!!!!" haha


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## hkskyline

Construction Updates - 2/22/09


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## hkskyline

*Chek Lap Kok may lose last natural coast for bridge project *
4 June 2009
South China Morning Post

Chek Lap Kok airport island will lose its last piece of natural coast if the latest plan for a road to the bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai goes ahead.

The Town Planning Board has been asked by the government to set aside the coastal protection area zoning for the 3 hectare strip of land on the island to enable the area to be reclaimed. This is among several rezoning requests for Chek Lap Kok that will be considered tomorrow.

According to a paper submitted to the board, about 1 hectare of the protection area would be replaced by a road connecting the bridge and a checkpoint. About 7,000 square metres would be used for a backup area for maintaining the linking road while 1.4 hectares would become landscaped buffers between the road and Dragonair Tower and CNAC Tower at the airport.

The coastal protection area was originally zoned to preserve a piece of the natural landscape of Chek Lap Kok island, which was flattened and massively extended to build the airport in the 1990s.

A source at the Planning Department said the original alignment of the linking road - a bridge connecting Tung Chung to the airport island - did not affect the coastline. But the alignment was changed after strong opposition from residents of Tung Chung, who said the bridge would be an eyesore.

Alan Leung Sze-lun, senior conservation officer of WWF, urged the government to explore alternative options to save the island's last piece of natural coast.


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## the last dragon

*terminal 1 levels*

helow 
i'm an architect student and i'm writing a thesis about airport. one of them is the chek lap kok international airport. i dont have enough substance about the levels of the arrival and departure and about the halls of the imigration, chek in and the bags claim.
i have pic's and sckech's from books and the internet but i didnt find out about the process that the passengers are doing after they are landing or before they are flying.
i would like to know if somone that was there or know about the information that i nead can help me.
thanks in advance


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## vvill

the last dragon said:


> helow
> i'm an architect student and i'm writing a thesis about airport. one of them is the chek lap kok international airport. i dont have enough substance about the levels of the arrival and departure and about the halls of the imigration, chek in and the bags claim.
> i have pic's and sckech's from books and the internet but i didnt find out about the process that the passengers are doing after they are landing or before they are flying.
> i would like to know if somone that was there or know about the information that i nead can help me.
> thanks in advance


im sure you can find some information about it either through the HKIA website or Foster's catalogue. 

HKIA has a very simple strategy in handling movement of people. the departure level is located on top of the arrival level so passengers rarely have to change levels to get to their boarding gates after checking in. due to the size of the terminal, there's also an automatic people's mover system (train) underneath the terminal which takes passengers from the eastern end to the western end in just under 3 minutes.


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## hkskyline

*HK's bill for airports rail link put at HK$50 billionHK's bill for airports link put at HK$50b *
5 October 2009
South China Morning Post

The planned rail link between the Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports would cost Hong Kong more than HK$50 billion, according to a government-commissioned study.

The study found that it would be expensive to build the 50-kilometre cross-border link because most of the Hong Kong section would have to be built underground and include a seven-kilometre cross-harbour tunnel between the airport and Tuen Mun. Completed by the MTR Corporation at the end of last year, the study has not been publicly disclosed.

News of the possible high cost of building the rail link between the two airports comes as transport officials are striving to keep the cost of the Hong Kong section of another cross-border rail link, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, below HK$50 billion after it ballooned beyond the original estimate of HK$39.5 billion.

If the Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities do eventually decide to build the railway, the Hong Kong government will have to fork out more than HK$100 billion in the next few years to build the two cross-border rail links. Recurrent government spending for 2009-10 is estimated to be HK$214.6 billion.

The length of the Hong Kong section of the line would be about 25 kilometres, including a nine-kilometre spur line connecting to Hung Shui Kiu, Yuen Long, while the Shenzhen section would be 25 kilometres long. Based on the estimate in the MTR Corp's study, which was commissioned by the Highways Department, it would cost more than HK$2 billion per kilometre.

A person familiar with the findings of the MTR Corp's study said the estimate was based on the assumption that the line would be built by the rail operator.

"The cost could be even higher if the Hong Kong section was built by the government or other entities. It's natural that the MTR's existing assets would help reduce the cost of building a new railway compared with a newcomer," the person said.

The study estimated a daily patronage of 7,000 air transit passengers travelling between the two airports in 2020, the earliest date the railway would be completed. But it has not included the number of cross-border passengers from other parts of the Pearl River Delta.

The express rail link connecting the two airports, one of 10 major infrastructure projects Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen pledged in his 2007 policy address to push ahead with during his tenure, has been renamed the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Express Line.

The link was also named by Premier Wen Jiabao in the annual government work report delivered in March as one of the three cross-border infrastructure projects for which the central government would expedite construction.

The Hong Kong government and Shenzhen authorities set up a task force to study the rail link in January last year. A preliminary study on the link, completed at the end of last year, confirmed the technical feasibility of the cross-border line.

But Hong Kong's transport officials are currently preoccupied with the express rail link to Guangzhou and the bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau.

The link connecting the Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports now had a lower priority on the government's agenda, a Hong Kong official said. The official added that it usually took nearly 10 years to complete a railway project, from the time when the go-ahead was given. "It incurs a lengthy statutory process, including environmental impact assessment and relevant public consultation, and a construction period lasting six to seven years," the official said.

The MTR Corp did not respond to an inquiry from the South China Morning Post, referring it to the government. A Transport and Housing Bureau spokeswoman said the express line was a multi-purpose cross-border rail link that would support future development of the two airports, as well as Qianhai in Shenzhen and the northwestern New Territories.

"These future developments will greatly affect the further planning of the express line, including its alignments and functions. We are looking at the way forward for the proposed express line together with the Shenzhen side, having regard to these considerations," she said.

Raymond Ho Chung-tai, a member of the Legislative Council's subcommittee on matters relating to railways, said he would not be surprised if the Hong Kong section cost up to HK$50 billion, given the technical difficulties. "But the rail link would bring huge economic benefits to Hong Kong, it will still be a good investment," said Ho, who represents the engineering sector.

Fang Zhou, senior research officer at the One Country, Two Systems Research Institute, said recouping investment should not be the sole consideration for construction of cross-border infrastructure projects.

But he agreed the planned railway might face opposition in the legislature if the gap between the construction cost and returns from fares was too wide.

Fang also said differences between Hong Kong and Shenzhen needed to be ironed out.

"Shenzhen airport also plans to operate international flights, although the move has not been approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Shenzhen airport may not agree to the idea of focusing on domestic flights while Hong Kong airport operates international flights," he said.

Fang, who conducted a study on cross-border railway projects early this year, said he was not optimistic that the rail link would be built.

The Hong Kong government has agreed with Shenzhen authorities that the travelling time by rail between the two airports should be about 20 minutes.

This would be quicker by half than the current time of 45 minutes to travel between the airports on the SkyPier ferry service.

The 12.5 billion yuan (HK$14 billion) Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen rail link would connect to the Hong Kong-Shenzhen airport route.

The South China Morning Post reported on Saturday that the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link would be the world's most expensive high-speed railway, at HK$1.52 billion a kilometre.


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## hkskyline

*Lawmakers question benefits of airport link *
24 October 2009
SCMP

The government would not insist on building a rail link to connect the airports of Hong Kong and Shenzhen unless it was satisfied it would do Hong Kong more good than harm, the transport chief said.

Officials are examining the flow of air passengers and cargo between the two airports.

Lawmakers asked transport minister Eva Cheng yesterday whether the proposed HK$50 billion line would in fact offer more benefits to Shenzhen's Baoan airport than to Hong Kong's. Cheng said the link could be of benefit if passengers were allowed to check in at Qianhai - the only intermediate station - as they are able to do at the Kowloon station of the Airport Express. Qianhai is set to be a new business and financial-services hub for Shenzhen.

"Our home carriers Cathay Pacific and Dragonair welcome this project; they believe it could help them develop Hong Kong into an aviation hub," she said.

But lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, an independent, said Cathay had told her it would not support a split hub - with Shenzhen handling domestic flights while Hong Kong focuses on international routes.

Ronny Tong Ka-wah of the Civic Party asked if Hong Kong needed to rely on Shenzhen for domestic connections. "Our air connection with the mainland is just 30 destinations short of Shenzhen airport's," he noted. "Why don't we develop direct flights instead?"

A government official said most of those 30 destination cities were too small to justify direct flights. The official also said that while airline officials do not in general support airport co-operation, they were hopeful the link could bring more international travellers from the area around the Qianhai station.


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## hkskyline

9/25


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## Mobilesteps

hkskyline said:


> By *gazer88* from HKADB :


Hi nice post,
pics you posted here is really nice.
we can get the pics like airports as many, but you posted here the accident pics are really awesome. We can't get these pics regularly.
Thanks for sharing


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## hkskyline

10/25


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## hkskyline

*HK-Baoan airport line may threaten ecologically sensitive area *
10 October 2009
South China Morning Post

A planned rail link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports may stop in the ecologically sensitive area of Sheung Pak Nai.

That possibility was raised yesterday at a symposium on high-speed rail by Qi Zhenming, deputy general manager of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Dedicated Passenger Line Company.

Sheung Pak Nai is an area rich in mangroves and mudflats.

An official later clarified anonymously that the government had tentatively explored the area as a site to house the link's emergency rescue station, but it was only one of the proposed options and planning of the alignment was not yet finished.

The 50-kilometre line will link Chek Lap Kok to Shenzhen's Baoan airport via Qianhai . Authorities are studying if a spur line should be built at the same time to connect the link to West Rail.

Matthew Sin Kar-wah of Green Power feared any project in Sheung Pak Nai would harm its ecology and wildlife.

"The area has a special scientific interest. A rare sea grass grows in the mudflats and the mangroves attract birds and gulls," he said.

The Transport and Housing Bureau said authorities were still working on an alignment.

The link was found technically viable by a study last year, but its progress has been halted since Shenzhen officials said in May that construction costs could top HK$50 billion. Hong Kong officials are also pushing ahead a high-speed link to Guangzhou.


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## hkskyline

Previously posted in the HK and aviation sections :



caelus said:


> http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/press-releases/pr_981.html
> 15-11-2009
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> To ensure the same level of service for the growing number of passengers flying on smaller aircraft, the Airport Authority has invested over HK$1 billion in the construction of a new North Satellite Concourse (NSC). The new concourse, which will be soft-opened on 17 December, will ensure that Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) continues to meet its performance pledge of embarking and disembarking more than 90% of its passengers by air bridges. The NSC is designed to serve more than five million passengers a year at the initial stage.
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> Howard Eng, Executive Director, Airport Operations of Airport Authority Hong Kong, said, “HKIA is dedicated to providing top-notch service and facilities to enhance its competitiveness as a regional and international aviation centre. With the new satellite concourse, less than 10 flights will need to be parked at remote bays every day compared to the current 40 to 50. This means more passengers can embark or disembark their aircraft in a pleasant, weatherproof environment, sparing them the inconvenience of being exposed to hot or rainy weather.”
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> Other highlights of the programme that have been completed include the reconfiguration of the Departures Immigration halls to increase HKIA’s security screening capacity by over 40%, and the expansion of the transfer area to cater for the continued growth of transit and transfer passengers. HKIA also intends to complete the upgrade of its baggage handling system and consolidate the two Arrivals Immigration halls into one single, spacious area in the near future. The entire programme will be concluded by 2011.
> 
> To cater for the airport’s projected mid-term growth, HKIA is also studying a midfield expansion project that would provide additional aircraft stands, related apron facilities and another passenger concourse to handle anticipated traffic demand up to the year 2020. The preliminary study will be completed next year.
> 
> :banana:


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## hkskyline

*HK Airport Plans To Invest HK$100 Bln In Expansion - Report *
3 December 2009

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Hong Kong's airport authority plans to invest nearly HK$100 billion in building a third runway and expanding one of the two terminals at the city's international airport, the Apple Daily reported Friday, citing an unnamed source.

The report cited the source as saying the airport operator plans to consult the public and conduct an environmental feasibility study before it begins construction work as early as 2012.

It expects to complete construction in 2020, the report said.


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## hkskyline

*HK airport opens new ferry terminal to meet strong cross-boundary demand *
15 January 2010

HONG KONG, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) on Friday launched the SkyPier, a new cross-boundary ferry terminal, to further facilitate strong demand for cross-boundary transport between the airport and the Pearl River Delta region.

The SkyPier is an important link between the airport and the Pearl River Delta region, said Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, at the opening ceremony held at the pier on Friday.

He said an international aviation hub underpins Hong Kong's efforts to enhance our competitiveness through the development of the four traditional pillar industries, in particular tourism and trade and logistics.

The new SkyPier is part of HKIA's near-term growth projects to enhance service levels and meet future demand, and the pier efficiently conveys passengers traveling between the Pearl River Delta and the world via HKIA, said Marvin Cheung Kin-tung Marvin Cheung Kin-tung, Chairman of the Airport Authority Hong Kong.

A temporary SkyPier opened in 2003 and served almost 10 million passengers.

The new 16,500-sqm permanent SkyPier is eight times the size of the temporary facility, and designed with a maximum capacity for 8 million annual passengers.

Currently, high-speed ferries make an average of 85 trips every day, shuttling around 5,000 passengers between HKIA and eight ports in the Pearl River Delta and Macao, including Zhongshan, Zhuhai Jiuzhou, Dongguan Humen, Guangzhou Nansha, Shenzhen Shekou and Shenzhen Fuyong as well as Macao's Taipa and Maritime Ferry Terminal.

Travelers using the SkyPier are not required to go through immigration and customs formalities at HKIA.

Passengers en route for overseas destinations via HKIA's SkyPier are also exempt from paying the Hong Kong Airport Departure Tax of 120 HK dollars.

The time for passengers to travel between the ferry pier and Terminal 1 is also shortened to about four minutes, half of the time previously required.

The 20,000 square meter North Satellite Concourse is also launched on Friday. Ten extra bridge-served parking stands for narrow-bodied aircraft are built to serve the rising number of narrow-bodied aircraft using the airport.


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## FM 2258

hkskyline said:


> 10/25


Wow, you can fly from Macau to Hong Kong? I'd take that flight.


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## hkskyline

FM 2258 said:


> Wow, you can fly from Macau to Hong Kong? I'd take that flight.


It's being chartered by another airline.


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## hkskyline

*Cathay Is in Talks to Buy Long-Range Jets, Shuns Super-Jumbos *

June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong’s biggest carrier, is in talks with Boeing Co. on buying 787 Dreamliner aircraft and with Airbus SAS on A350 jets as it seeks to enhance its cargo business. 

Cathay Pacific will shun Airbus’s larger A380 superjumbo aircraft as well as Boeing’s 747-8, the biggest airliner the Chicago-based company has ever built, in favor of smaller long- range jets that are more suited to carrying cargo, Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler said in an interview in Berlin. 

The carrier said yesterday that it agreed to sell its 15 percent stake in Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. to its biggest shareholder for HK$9.4 billion ($1.2 billion). The proceeds will help Cathay Pacific pay for 33 planes that it has ordered and is taking delivery of in the next four years. 

“We’re talking to Boeing about 787s and Airbus about A350s,” Tyler said. “We have no plans at the moment to have a campaign on the A380 or on the 747-8 Intercontinental.” 

The new planes will allow Cathay to add destinations and replace its A340 aircraft and Boeing 747-400 models, enhancing a route network that is being anchored by Boeing’s 777. 

“It’s a great cargo carrier and has a huge belly and doesn’t have that many passengers,” the executive said. “The A380 doesn’t have such a huge belly, and you’ve got 500 plus passenger bags to accommodate.” 

Cargo Terminal 

*Cathay has restarted work on a new cargo terminal in Hong Kong after suspending construction when demand for services shrank last year, Tyler said.* The airline will also buy 49 percent of Air China Ltd.’s cargo unit as part of a joint venture with the Beijing-based carrier. The deal will probably receive Chinese regulatory approval within months, Tyler said. 

“We’re a very big player in the international market, and the reason we’re a big player is that we sit in a very lively air cargo market,” said Tyler. “Cargo demand collapsed but it bounced back very well, very healthily and we fully believe in the long-term future as a business stream.”


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## hkskyline

By *josephcpng* from HKADB :


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## hkskyline

*Airport Authority earmarks HK$12b for expansion plan*
1 July 2010
South China Morning Post

Hong Kong's Airport Authority has earmarked HK$12 billion for an expansion plan aimed at ensuring it can cope with expected air traffic growth by 2020 after posting a record annual net profit and paying the government a handsome dividend.

The Hong Kong government, the airport's sole shareholder, will pocket HK$4.5 billion in dividends, including an unprecedented special dividend totalling HK$2.2 billion, outstripping the airport's HK$2.84 billion net profit in the year to March. The special dividend comprises retained profit at the airport.

Starting from the fiscal year 2003/2004, the government has received HK$13 billion in dividends and HK$6.0 billion in capital repayments from the airport, recouping half of its investment.

The airport's earnings rose nearly 10 per cent due to expanded retail spaces in terminal one, offsetting the negative effect of reduced air traffic and a relief programme for airlines in which fees were cut 10 per cent. Sales at the airport increased 1.5 per cent to HK$ 9.0 billion despite a 1.7 per cent fall in passenger number and a 5.4 per cent fall in aircraft movements.

Stanley Hui Hon-chung, chief executive of Airport Authority, said yesterday that he had seen robust growth in both passenger and cargo traffic in the first five months and believed that the growth would continue into the second half. He predicted that passenger volume would exceed the pre-recession level to reach 50 million passengers for the year, up from 46.9 million last year.

The airport, which ranks 13 in the world in terms of total passenger numbers, has been studying a plan to construct a passenger concourse and aircraft stands in the midfield, the only large-scale undeveloped area on the airport island.

This would enable it to handle the 70 million passengers and 6 million tonnes of cargo expected to flow through the airport annually by 2020.

Some 20 parking stands will be built by 2015 when the maximum capacity of the two runways will be lifted up to 68 aircraft per hour from 59 at present, followed by 10 additional stands by 2020. Cost for the expansion in mid-field amounts to about HK$ 9 billion, including a railway to connect it to the main terminal.

The capital expenditure would be funded by bond issuance, Hui said, adding that any plans to list the airport were a government matter.

The third runway in Chek Lap Kok was still under review. The result would be released by the year end, followed by a public consultation.

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has been urging the construction of a third runway at the airport. Hong Kong had lost 7 per cent of total passenger numbers to direct flights across the strait, Hui said. The shortfall, however, had been offset by the rise in passenger traffic on other routes.


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## hkskyline

*Fears rise for HK's status as global air hub*
5 July 2010
SCMP

To build or not to build a third runway? Last month, as Hong Kong was still pondering the question, a six-runway airport in Dubai opened for freighter services. It is due to open for passenger services next spring, with annual capacity of more than 120 million passengers.

Dubai, the fourth-largest international airport in the world, has spared no effort to disguise its ambition to be a global transportation hub. Middle Eastern carriers, including Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, have expanded with the airport's unprecedented growth.

Hong Kong, however, which ranks second in international passenger numbers and first for international cargo, is more cautious.

A study into a third runway, which is part of the airport's Master Plan 2030, has stalled for more than a year, though time is running out because the airport is due to reach full capacity within 10 years. "It takes 10 to 12 years to build a new runway in a city like Hong Kong," said Dr Law Cheung-kwok, associate director, aviation policy and research, at Chinese University. "The matter is complex because of the need for consultations and environmental studies to do with land reclamation. We are already behind schedule."

But Stanley Hui Hon-chung, chief executive of the Airport Authority, cautioned against acting without sufficient information. "We have approximately 10 years before the capacity of the two runways is saturated," he said. "We don't want to jump to conclusions that a third runway is needed. We have to see the whole picture though the master plan.

It is understood that the plan will now be finalised by the end of the year, and that a public consultation process will follow its release.

In the meantime, the airport has addressed its capacity problem with another solution: building a new passenger concourse and mid-field aircraft parking on the only unused land on the airport island available.

After building 30 mid-field parking stands, and extending the capacity of the two existing runways, the airport will be in a position to handle 68 aircraft an hour by 2015, up from 59 aircraft per hour at present, Hui said. And the airport could go on to handle 70 million passengers by 2020, up from 50 million at present, and meet the needs of projected air-traffic growth by 2020, he said.

But Law responded: "Building more parking spaces does not boost capacity if you don't have enough landing slots for aircraft, which requires building another runway."

Cathay chief executive Tony Tyler has addressed the landing slot shortage several times and has urged the government to build the third runway as soon as possible.

Hong Kong could easily be edged out as an international air hub if it failed to build a third runway and adopt an open-sky policy, said Edwin Lau Wing-chu, vice-president of Greater China at Emirates. There were 116 airlines operating in Dubai International Airport currently, he added, far more than the 90 airlines operating in Hong Kong.

Located halfway between Europe and Asia, Dubai - home to Emirates Airline - has emerged as a natural connecting hub between the two continents, Lau said.

Emirates earns 28 per cent of its sales revenues from East Asia and Australasia, and 12 per cent from West Asia, with the bulk of the balance from Europe and the Middle East. It stole the headlines earlier this month when it extended an order for the huge Airbus 380 to 90 - dwarfing the 20 ordered by the next largest A380 customer, Qantas.

Even before this purchase, Emirates and its rivals in the Gulf - Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways - had embarked on an expansion plan to carry almost 200 million passengers a year within a decade - almost a fourfold increase on the volumes they carried last year.

That ambitious target has been made possible as a result of the expansion planned by airports in Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, which together aim to be equipped to handle as many as 190 million passengers a year by 2015, outstripping the number presently at London's Heathrow, Paris's Charles de Gaulle, and Frankfurt Airport in Germany.

Given its population of just four million, the targets set by the United Arab Emirates airlines assume that a large chunk of international passenger traffic will use the Middle East as a hub - that they will poach passengers currently using traditional long-haul carriers.

Emirates, which showcases the growth of the Middle East, has doubled its size in every few years and, last year, became the world's largest international carrier. It completed 118.3 billion passenger kilometres last year, leaving Lufthansa and Air France in second and third in terms of international traffic, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways took fourth and fifth place, finishing with more than 81 billion passenger kilometres each. The figures do not take into account domestic passenger volumes and recent airline mergers.

Lau has witnessed the extraordinary growth of Emirates at first hand over the past 18 years. When he joined Emirates in 1992, it operated just 10 aircraft to 20-odd destinations, including Hong Kong, Karachi and Istanbul. Now it operates 138 aircraft, serving 102 destinations, and has 172 aircraft to be delivered by 2017.

The Greater China market is very important to Emirates, Lau said. It will deploy its tenth A380 on the Beijing route in August, while Shanghai will be the next destination, with a tentative timetable set for next January. The carrier provides a double daily service to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and a daily service to Guangzhou, at present. Lau said it was now looking at new mainland destinations to cater for the robust demand from the mainland for destinations in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Europe and Africa.

Fast-growing air traffic demand between mainland China and Africa is fuelled by the economic tie-up between the two continents. Mainland state-owned enterprises have invested heavily in African countries for a range of construction projects from railways to bridges to ports.

Emirates reacted promptly when China Southern Airlines suspended its service between Beijing and Lagos in Nigeria in January last year, by immediately doubling the frequency of flights between Lagos and Dubai.

Analysts said Emirates, making massive aircraft acquisitions, had avoided the industry mistake of ordering aircraft at the peak of the cycle. It ordered its A380s when the industry was reeling from the impact of the global economic downturn.

Emirates' long-running profitability and low cost structure also leave global competitors green with envy. The carrier has just reported net profit of US$964 million for the 12 months to March - a 21st consecutive annual result in the black, as opposed to more than US$9 billion losses in the broader industry last year.

A younger fleet and low staff costs enable Emirates to maintain low air fares. Dubai has no corporate tax, while Emirates employees pay no income tax either. Staff costs at Emirates are about 16 per cent of total operating cost, versus some 20 per cent for airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Meanwhile an open sky policy, streamlining of visa applications, and steady development of infrastructure and air traffic control has made Dubai not only a hub for Emirates Airline but an increasingly popular hub for airlines all over the globe.

"We are exposed to fierce competition in Dubai which is forcing us to expand our network and improve our products," Lau said. "But at the same time we have expanded to 102 destinations overseas."

Lau said new openings of destinations for the airline would be maintained at four to five yearly.

He warned that Hong Kong would lose its status as an international hub if it did not open up its skies.

"Unlike Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore, which have already implemented an open sky policy, Hong Kong International Airport will be edged out if it continues to impose restrictions on airlines' operations," the Emirates executive said.


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## hkskyline

*Bullish Cathay restarts work on cargo terminal*
11 August 2010
SCMP

The construction of Cathay Pacific Airways' wholly owned cargo terminal has resumed after a two-year suspension and it is scheduled to open in early 2013.

The facility, with a designed capacity of 2.6 million tonnes a year, will be expanded in a second phase of construction as the carrier is banking on a strong recovery in the cargo market. The new phase will boost its handling capacity by 53 per cent to 4 million tonnes a year.

After the ground-breaking ceremony in the summer of 2008, the project was postponed when the global financial crisis erupted later in the year. Hong Kong International Airport, the world's busiest in terms of international cargo, aims to handle eight million tonnes of cargo by 2025, compared with 3.35 million tonnes last year. The first phase of the cargo terminal built by Cathay Pacific, the third one at the airport, could increase the cargo handling capacity at Chek Lap Kok by 50 per cent to 7.4 million tonnes a year.

Cathay was confident of the long-term growth of thecargo business in Hong Kong as the mainland's imports and hi-tech exports went through Hong Kong, Rupert Hogg, director of cargo at Cathay, said yesterday. He shrugged off suggestions that growth in the second half would be down significantly from the first half because of the bond crisis in the euro zone. "This year will be a good one in the cargo business," he said.

The terminal, spanning 10 hectares, had already reserved more space for expansion, said a management spokesperson for Cathay Pacific Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of the airline that is operating the new cargo terminal. "We will study the expansion plan once the cargo terminal opens in 2013."

The new, HK$5.5 billion cargo terminal will have a gross floor area of 240,000 square metres. The facility will be equipped with the most advanced mechanical handling system provided by Siemens and can claim to be the world's most efficient cargo facility in terms of land use.

"Cathay has said that their cargo terminal would be at least 50 per cent more efficient than other terminals," said Kaiser Lam, general manager, air exports, at Expeditors Hong Kong. "After efficiency, what we want the most is lower handling fees."

Higher costs at Hong Kong International Airport have long been blamed as one of its shortcomings compared to the neighbouring airports of Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

The Gammon-Hip Hing joint venture, which is building the cargo terminal, said the project could create more than 1,000 jobs.


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## hkskyline

*HK$150m bill for accommodating A380s *
23 August 2010
SCMP










More than HK$150 million will be spent on passenger air bridges and other facilities to accommodate up to five Airbus A380s at Chek Lap Kok, even though only one of the aircraft a day currently uses the airport.

As more airlines add the A380, which can carry over 500 passengers, to their fleets, Hong Kong airport is increasing its readiness with three new triple air bridges and two double air bridges modified to handle the A380. Hong Kong joins Singapore, Beijing and other major cities in the region that have airports equipped with triple air bridges for the A380.

The aircraft has two levels, each requiring at least one air bridge. This means triple air bridges are needed for the A380 to help the large number of passengers board and disembark faster, and also to cater to passengers in first and business class and those in economy.

On average, it takes about 11 or 12 minutes for passengers to disembark with three air bridges and 15 minutes with just two.

Compared to a Boeing 747-400, the A380 has an almost 80-metre wing span - about 15 metres wider than the Boeing aircraft - is 1.7 metres longer and has a tail that rises just over five metres higher than that of the 747-400.

Depending on the configuration, a fully loaded A380 can carry 555 passengers, compared with about 400 for the 747-400.

Since July last year, Singapore Airlines has been the only airline operating an A380 to Hong Kong, with daily flights. From October 1, Emirates Airlines will fly an A380 daily to Hong Kong.

An A380 landed at the airport on a test flight in November 2006.

One of the new triple air bridges, at a cost of about HK$27.5 million, started operating at gate E15 four weeks ago. Triple air bridges will also be installed at Gates 64 and 66 by the middle of next year.

Another HK$80 million has already been spent on modifying two double air bridges at Gates 60 and 62 to facilitate passenger flow at both the upper and lower decks of the aircraft, as well as other related infrastructure improvement work.

Henry Ma Yiu-man, the Airport Authority's airfield general manager, said more triple air bridges would probably be installed as the airport expanded its facilities to meet market demand.

"But we're still in the planning stages," Ma, who has not flown on the A380, said.

Officials at Chek Lap Kok, which Airports Council International said handled the world's third largest international passenger volume last year, are studying a plan to construct a passenger concourse and aircraft stands in the midfield, the only large-scale undeveloped area on the airport site. This would allow Chek Lap Kok to handle the 70 million passengers and 6 million tonnes of cargo expected to flow through the airport annually by 2020.


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## FlagshipV

^^Thats good!! How many carriers a flying their A380's there?? Pity CX didnt order any.........


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## EricIsHim

Another argument is planes will be able to take a path further north away from Ma Wan, so the noise should be reduced. But then you get the people from Ting Kau and Tsuen Wan whine about the same thing.

I still don't get and agree with people in Ma Wan complains about the airport operation. The airport was there before Park Island did, and they choose to move in Ma Wan by will, and should have learned the negative side of living in Ma Wan as much as its relatively remote setting. 
Complaining about something that for sure can't be fixed easily, it is just nonsense.


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## hkskyline

*HSBC spells out costs of third runway at airport*
The Standard
Tuesday, August 09, 2011

HSBC says the Airport Authority has to consider construction inflation rates, passenger traffic and competition among airports in the Pearl River Delta before embarking on the territory's biggest stand-alone project of a third runway.

The authority hired the bank to act as external financial adviser to the master plan for the development of the Hong Kong International Airport up to 2030.

The final report of the bank's financial assessment was one of eight reports released yesterday in response to public demand.

The cost of the third runway has been estimated at HK$86.2 billion in 2010 prices, which is equivalent to HK$136.2 billion with inflation. Construction will take about 10 years. 

The bank warns that the authority has "a cumulative pre-financing cash shortfall of HK$112.8 billion, of which only HK$11 billion can be prudently financed with additional indebtedness."

The HSBC analysis is based on a capital expenditure of HK$136.2 billion and operating cashflows of HK$185.4 billion.

A key risk to the three-runway option would be future passenger traffic. Forecasts would depend on gross domestic product as well "the competitive dynamics between the major airports and alternative modes of transport in the Pearl River Delta."

Stress tests showed that cash shortfalls could increase from HK$113 billion to HK$133 billion with construction inflation and HK$131 billion with spending overruns.

This funding gap of HK$102 billion for the three-runway option may be met through further equity injections from the government, reduced dividends, additional charges, alternative financing and/or private sector equity financing.


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## hkskyline

*We can help, say dolphin defenders*
The Standard
Monday, August 22, 2011

A conservation group wants the Airport Authority to take more notice of green groups that may help minimize the environmental impact of a third runway.

Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society chairman Samuel Hung Ka-yiu said a balance may be struck between infrastructure development and environmental protection.

"It is about give and take," Hung said. "If we take something from the environment, we need to give something back to the environment."

However, consultancy reports released on August 8 by the authority still do not address concerns over the environmental threat, particularly to Chinese white dolphins.

Hung said the studies provide information about the impact on air quality, but fail to tell the public how the dolphins will be affected and what mitigation measures the authority will take to protect the endangered creatures.

Calling on the authority to reveal the full environmental impact, he said "if there are serious problems, we can discuss together to find a solution."

Hung hopes there will be more positive developments and talks with the authority before the end of consultation next month.

"Some people think we are radical and make some unreasonable requests. Actually, we are rational and for the good of Hong Kong."

He said green groups tend to be placed in a position against the authority because it always mentions economic benefits instead of environmental costs.

"We are forced to oppose them because they do not consider the environmental impact seriously."

Hung said there are about 200 Chinese white dolphins using Hong Kong waters and they are facing threats such as overfishing, water pollution and high-speed ferries.

He said the proposed reclamation area for the third runway is at the center of three core locations frequented by the dolphins - Lung Kwu Chau, the Brothers Islands and Tai O to Fan Lau waters.


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## lkiller123

Here is the entire series of videos for the Master Plan 2030 (3rd runway proposal) released by Air Authority Hong Kong, very informative videos.

They are arranged in order:


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## hkskyline

*Airport talks near final approach*
The Standard
Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Science is fully in play as planners look at ways to lessen the impact on the environment of a third runway at Chek Lap Kok, a senior executive of the Airport Authority argued as he tried to take the heat out of opposition to the project.

"Development and environment are not mutually exclusive," said executive director of airport operations Howard Eng Kiu-chor as he pointed to more impact studies and mitigation measures once people are convinced of a need for a third runway.

But green groups and some political parties continue to push the authority to extend the consultation, which ends on Friday after three months.

They were at a third runway forum and workshop organized by WWF Hong Kong in Wan Chai yesterday, with Eng claiming the authority has taken the environment into consideration in its proposed master plan.

For instance, Eng said, there would be no marine piling in order not to upset Chinese white dolphins.

But green groups remain unconvinced.

The WWF Hong Kong's climate program head, William Yu Yuen-ping, said his group supports airport improvements but the authority has failed to provide a full picture of the environmental cost if a third runway is to be constructed.

And seeking more consultation on two choices - extending present facilities or a third runaway - Democratic Party lawmaker Emily Lau Wai- hing told Eng: "I don't think, based on what you've done in these few months, that you should come to a conclusion that option two should be adopted."

More "engagement and consultation" is needed, she added, and "if you try to come out and announce that option two is accepted, I think there will be a big uproar in the community."

Law Cheung-kwok of the Aviation Policy and Research Centre at the Chinese University of Hong Kong backs a third runway option.

"Time is running out," he said. "It is urgent and vital to construct the third runway to sustain our position as an international aviation hub."

Separately, the Staff and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines is also backing a third runway after a poll of 511 aviation industry workers earlier this month. Eighty percent support it.

At least one more public event is due this week.


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## hkskyline

*Cathay Pacific Chief Executive reiterates airline’s support for third runway on final day of public consultation period*
2 September 2011
Cathay Pacific Press Release

Cathay Pacific Airways Chief Executive John Slosar used his keynote speech at the Aerospace Forum Asia today to reiterate the airline’s support for the building of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) as the public consultation period for the proposal comes to an end.

“Hong Kong is about connectivity and the sustainability of the Hong Kong economy and, therefore, the long-term prosperity and wellbeing of Hong Kong people is dependent on us continuing to provide and grow those linkages for the future,” he said.

Mr Slosar also pointed out that the development of a third runway at HKIA is the only viable way to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong as an important international financial, trading and logistics, tourism and professional services hub.

“The rest of the world is not standing still, with new aviation infrastructure being planned in Seoul, Bangkok and Mainland China. If we decide to step out of the race, then the others will pass us,” he said.

Mr Slosar said the consultation period had been a robust exercise with many points of view being raised and debated, and then provided an historical context by looking at the issues that were raised in the 1980s when the need for the Hong Kong International Airport was being debated.

“In the mid-1980s and 1990s, questions were raised about the economic benefits of building a new airport, whether it was actually needed or whether Kai Tak could simply continue to operate,” he said. “But I think we would all agree that HKIA has been a tremendous success and has underpinned the development of Hong Kong as an aviation and economic powerhouse.”

Mr Slosar stressed that the economic and social benefits of the third runway would need to be carefully balanced with environmental, engineering and funding considerations.

“The aviation industry in Hong Kong has benefited from an active debate on the many different points of view which should be considered and built into the final project,” he said.


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## Aenelia

So when will the results of the public consultation be available ? Any ETA ?


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## lkiller123

> The three-month public consultation on the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030 was completed on 2 September 2011. We are grateful to all stakeholders and members of the public for sharing their comments and suggestions.
> The Social Sciences Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong has been tasked to collect, compile and analyse views expressed on the Master Plan. After reviewing the report from the Research Centre, our Board will submit its recommendations to the HKSAR Government for a decision on the long-term growth direction of the airport. Stakeholders and the public will be kept informed of progress made in due course.
> Meanwhile, we will continue to engage various stakeholders while giving our best to maintain Hong Kong’s status as a premier aviation hub. Thank you.
> Airport Authority Hong Kong


From the Master Plan website.


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## lkiller123

*Airport Master Plan Consultation Concludes Today*
*Over 29,000 Responses Received*
Official Press Release
September 2, 2011

The three-month public consultation for the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Master Plan 2030 (Master Plan) concluded today. According to the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), the University of Hong Kong's Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC) has received over 29,000 questionnaires and written feedback submissions as of noon on 1 September.

The SSRC is a third-party research institute appointed by AAHK to independently collect, compile and analyse all the views regarding the Master Plan expressed in the media, various engagement meetings, questionnaires filled out by the public and written submissions received during the consultation period. It will submit a report to AAHK in October.

Dr Marvin Cheung Kin-tung, Chairman of AAHK, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the public for their valuable opinions. "The consultation is part of a long planning process, and through it we seek to consult stakeholders and members of the public on HKIA's future development direction. This is a crucial step for formulating the airport's long-term development plan.

"After studying the SSRC's report, we will submit our recommendations on the airport's development direction to the government. We aim to do this before the end of this year. Our recommendations will take into consideration the results of this consultation, which we believe reflects the full spectrum of views of our stakeholders and the general public. Whatever development direction is taken, AAHK will continue to do its best to serve the people of Hong Kong," added Dr Cheung.

During the consultation, AAHK organised, co-organised and attended nearly 200 seminars, forums, meetings and briefings to engage the public and stakeholders. These included a large-scale business partner seminar; three open forums for all members of the public; three roundtables and eight one-on-one meetings with green groups; numerous rounds of residents' meetings; and briefings for representatives of the fishing industry and various professional bodies. AAHK also attended meetings of the Legislative Council and the 18 District Councils, and it commissioned three organisations, InnoFoco, Powersoft Consulting and 30SGroup, to help collate views from youth through various channels.

In addition, the four Master Plan exhibitions, held at the airport and three downtown locations, attracted about 25,000 visitors. The Master Plan website and online videos recorded a total hit rate of around 180,000.

The Master Plan puts forward two airport development options for consultation. Option 1 is to maintain the existing dual-runway system but to continue enhancing the terminal and airfield facilities, which would help HKIA meet growth demand up to about 2020. Option 2 is to expand to a three-runway system that would give the airport sufficient capacity to cope with the expected traffic growth up to 2030 and possibly beyond.

"Over the past three months, we have received a lot of helpful feedback, comments and suggestions. They are all valuable to us, and we will consider all of them carefully. We are grateful to all those who participated in our public consultation exercise or expressed their views through various channels," Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of AAHK, said.

"In particular, we are well aware of the concerns over what it could mean for our environment if Option 2 is taken and we expand to a three-runway system. These are valid concerns. The opinions and advice from green groups and other stakeholders will be considered carefully and thoroughly,” Mr Hui added.


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## Aenelia

lkiller123 said:


> From the Master Plan website.


Yes I read that on that website but it doesn't answer my question. I guess they must have some idea when they'll be done with compiling all the info, or not ?


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## hkskyline

Aenelia said:


> Yes I read that on that website but it doesn't answer my question. I guess they must have some idea when they'll be done with compiling all the info, or not ?


Haven't heard of a time frame, but will keep an eye on the presses and post when it's available.


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## lkiller123

*Hong Kong Airport August Passengers Up 6.5% On Year At 5.0 Mln*
SEPTEMBER 18, 2011
The Wall Street Journal

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Passenger traffic at Hong Kong's airport rose 6.5% in August from a year earlier because of a continued recovery in air travel, the city's airport operator said Sunday, but cargo volumes fell as demand softened during the month.

Airport Authority Hong Kong, which operates Hong Kong's international airport, said the airport handled 5.0 million passengers in August, up from 4.7 million a year earlier. Cargo throughput fell 7.8% to 319,000 metric tons from 346,000 tons a year earlier.

The decline in cargo throughput was mainly due to an 11% decrease in exports and a 5% fall in import volumes during the month, the airport operator said in a statement. It also said transshipment volumes--or goods that are shipped to Hong Kong from China before reaching their ultimate users in the West--fell 1% during the same period.
In the January-August period, passenger traffic at Hong Kong's airport rose 5.9% from a year earlier to 35.9 million passengers, and cargo throughput was down 3.6% at 2.6 million tons.


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## lkiller123

*HK$246,000 bid for first 787 Boeing Dreamliner flight to Hong Kong
*
3 October, 2011
CNNGo

A ticket for two seats on the inaugural ANA 787 Boeing Dreamliner flight between Narita and Hong Kong has sold on eBay for AU$32,700 (HK$245,645), according to Australian Business Traveller.

The Dreamliner, which is slated to become one of the most efficient commercial aircraft in the sky, will make its first flight on October 26 between Japan's Narita International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport, then retrace its 3.5-hour route back to Japan the following day.

ANA's auction package included two business class tickets on both flights plus accommodation at the Kowloon Shangri-La hotel, in Hong Kong. To highlight the energy efficiency of the Boeing 787, all proceeds from the auction will go to Conservation International Japan, an environmental protection agency.

The eBay auction began one week ago at AU$1,826. In the final days, fierce bidding between four eBay punters pushed the bids past AU$30,000.

The winning bid works out to about AU$2,335, or HK$17,540, per hour of flying for each passenger.

Why all that money for a couple of seats on the 787 Boeing Dreamliner? The aircraft's makers claim it will be like nothing we've ever experienced on commercial flights.

What's so special about the 787 Boeing Dreamliner? Find out more about what exactly you can expect to see, feel, hear and smell.


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## luciaparkison

Awesome landscape , seems very beautiful the scenery and the architecture as well .


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## lkiller123

*The world's top 10 airports ranked
*
2011-10-11
Flightcentric.com


*Hong Kong International Airport has won the award World's Best Airport title during the 2011 World Airport Awards held at Passenger Terminal Expo in Copenhagen. *

Following Hong Kong International Airport, the perennial favourite of worldwide travellers and last year's top airport, Singapore's Changi Airport became the runner up. This year's third place is Korea's Incheon International Airport, which last held the title in 2009. 

Fourth was Munich Airport, also named Best Airport in Europe. 

From eighth place last year, Beijing Capital Airport moved to fifth place and achieved Best Airport China. Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport finished sixth. 

Seventh placed was Zurich Airport, with New Zealand's Auckland International Airport a surprise eighth, which also took the title of Best Airport Australia-Pacific. 

Kuala Lumpur International Airport was ninth and took the honour of Best Immigration Service. 

Leaping into the top 10 from 15th last year was Copenhagen Airport. 

World Airport Award winners are picked up based on survey results from 11.38 million questionnaires filled up by more than 100 different nationality of airline travellers in 2010/2011, covering over 240 airports around the world. 

Each respondent evaluates airport service and product factors, from check-in, arrivals, departure and at the gate. The awards starting operating in 1999. 

GB


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## lkiller123

*Hong Kong International Airport named World's Best Airport at the 2011 World Airport Awards 
*
2011-10-11
Skytrax (Press Release)


*In a nine month customer survey that attracted more than 11.38 million participants, Hong Kong International Airport has been named as the Worlds Best Airport by air travellers across the globe. 

In a nine month customer survey that attracted more than 11.38 million participants, HKIA has been named as the Worlds Best Airport by air travellers across the globe. This is the 8th time that HKIA has achieved this success. "After another extremely successful airport survey, and a nail biting finish that resulted in three star performing airports battling it out during the final weeks to see which would take first place, we congratulate HKIA on achieving this top airport title. The ratings for HKIA show some considerable improvements during the last year, particularly in security and immigration processing that served to enhance customer satisfaction levels. Fast and easy access to downtown Hong Kong, combined with the bright and airy terminal ambiance, superb shopping facilities to place HKIA in top position. As the winner of Best Airport Dining Award, the food and beverage outlets clearly played their part in this years success for HKIA. *

A perennial favourite of air travellers worldwide, and the 2010 top airport winner, Changi Airport Singapore was a very close runner up ranking 2nd best airport in 2011. "During the survey period Changi Airport has been undergoing some major terminal refurbishment. This may have impacted slightly on customer satisfaction, because in many areas such as security and immigration, terminal cleanliness and comfort we saw an improvement in customer satisfaction" said Edward Plaisted of Skytrax. Changi Airport did score two major achievements in the survey winning the title of Best International Transit Airport and Best Airport for Leisure Amenities. Any travellers that have spent an extended time in Changi will appreciate the vast array of leisure options that this airport provides. 

Incheon International Airport, the overall award winner in 2009 was similarly in very close contention, securing 3rd place in the results. Incheon is rapidly becoming a true customer favourite, delivering many new benchmarks in terms of airport comfort and user friendliness. This years survey result yet again points to something of an elite three airports that presently dominate customer satisfaction ratings, and in recent years Skytrax have seen HKIA, Changi and Incheon fighting it out to secure the award of Worlds Best Airport - this year of course HKIA being the winner of the title. Incheon scored notable success and recognition of its high quality standards, winning the Staff Service Excellence Award amongst Asian Airports and ranked Best in the World for Terminal Cleanliness standards. 

Munich Airport ranked 4th in the world and is the repeat winner of the Best Airport Europe title, "Convenience, terminal comfort and Bavarian hospitality all seem to impress users of this airport", said Edward Plaisted of Skytrax. "And clearly the overall consistency and reliability that users experience at this airport are a key factor to their success". 

Beijing Capital International Airport continued its quest of improvement in the customer ratings, moving up to 5th from 8th in 2010. Now ranked as the 2nd largest airport in the world for passenger traffic, BCIA secured the award as Best Airport China in 2011. Whilst split between three terminals, passengers particularly praised the level of customer service, with the highest ratings being achieved by Terminal 3. Elsewhere in China it was the island of Hainan which scored a success, with Haikou Meilan Airport being named winner of the Best Regional Airport in China award. Set in semi-tropical surroundings, customer satisfaction ratings demonstrated considerable improvement during 2010 for Haikou to secure this award. BCIA scored further successes, picking up the award for Best Airport Washrooms. 

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport secured 6th place in the overall ranking table, as well as taking the award for Best Airport in Western Europe. This proved to be another successful year for AMS moving up a further place in the rankings from 7th in 2010, and also achieving top-3 finishes in the International Transit Airport category and Leisure Amenities section. "Amsterdam continues to be popular choice with travellers and congratulate Amsterdam for its repeat win in the Western Europe Category" said Skytrax. 

Zurich Airport achieved success in the Best Baggage Delivery award for the second year running, building on the success of 2010. Zurich Airport continues to be a favourite with passengers travelling in Europe achieving a 7th place finish the ranking table for airports across the globe. "The speed of baggage delivery continues to be a very emotive area of service for air travellers. For Zurich to win this award for 2 consecutive years clearly demonstrates that a very high level of consistency is being achieved in Zurich" said Skytrax. 

Auckland International Airport proved a repeat winner as Best Airport Australia/Pacific in 2011, "Receiving praise from customers for delivering a typically friendly standard of Kiwi service, airport users also showed improved satisfaction levels for security and immigration procedures. 

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) maintained its place in the worlds top-10 airports with a 9th place finish, and a win in the Best Immigration Service category. Another repeat win from the 2010, KLIA continues to maintain a high level of staff service for the immigration formalities. 

Copenhagen Airport enters the Top 10 ranking in 2011, from 15th position in 2010. Staff service and terminal comfort and ambience were two of the higher scoring sections for this airport.


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## hkskyline

Can we keep this thread to solely construction projects and plans while other news can go to the aviation section's dedicated HKG thread? Thanks.


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## lkiller123

Oops, sorry.


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## hkskyline

*Ceremony marks topping out of new Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal, special-livery freighter unveiled*
17 November 2011
Press Release

Cathay Pacific Airways today staged a special ceremony to mark the completion of the civil construction of the new Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport. The event was hosted by the airline’s Chief Executive, John Slosar, with The Honourable Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as guest of honour.

The airline used the event to unveil its latest aircraft, a new Boeing 747-8 Freighter in a unique livery and carrying a special name, Hong Kong Trader, in recognition of the city’s position as one of the world’s most important trading hubs.

In addition to the HKSAR Chief Executive, the terminal topping-out ceremony was attended by special guests from a number of government departments, representatives from the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong, the Airport Authority and Civil Aviation Department, key contractors involved in the projects and friends from Hong Kong’s airfreight industry.

Speaking at the ceremony, John Slosar said: “When it begins operations in early 2013 the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal will mark a major advancement in Hong Kong’s position as the world’s busiest international air cargo hub. Cathay Pacific has worked tirelessly to develop Hong Kong’s hub role and we are continuing to make huge investments – in the terminal and in new aircraft - to help boost our city’s competitive edge.

“Together with our commitment to buy next-generation freighters – including 10 Boeing 747-8s and eight Boeing 777-200Fs - and our purpose-built fast-connection terminal, Hong Kong will continue to lead the world in air cargo. It’s important that we put ourselves in a good position to face up to the growing competition from other hubs in the region. The aircraft, the terminal, the professionalism of Hong Kong’s logistics community and, we hope, a third runway can make it happen.”

Dr Marvin Cheung, Chairman of the Airport Authority said: “Cathay Pacific’s new cargo terminal – the fourth at Hong Kong International Airport – will be a timely addition to our facilities. When it starts operations in 2013, it will increase our total designed annual capacity for air cargo by 50%, to 7.4 million tonnes. In the coming years, additional freighter parking stands will be built both at the midfield area and the west apron to meet forecast growth.”

In March 2008, the Airport Authority awarded Cathay Pacific Services Ltd (CPSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the airline, the franchise to invest in, design, construct and operate the new air cargo terminal at HKIA under a 20-year agreement. The facility will occupy a site of around 10 hectares in the airport’s cargo area.

The HK$5.5 billion terminal is being designed for an annual air cargo throughput of 2.6 million tonnes and will help boost the efficiency and competitiveness of the Hong Kong air cargo hub. At the heart of the cargo terminal is a HK$1.4 billion material handling system, or MHS, which will be the most advanced in the world to date.

The contract for the construction of the main terminal building was awarded to a Gammon-Hip Hing Joint Venture while the MHS will be provided by Siemens.

When the terminal is fully operationally, CPSL will employ around 1,800 people to run the facility on a 24-7 basis, handling imports, exports and transshipments with unparalleled efficiency. The building of the terminal also provided employment for a great many people, with some 1,800 working on the project during the peak construction period.

Hong Kong Trader provided a dramatic backdrop to the topping-out ceremony, resplendent in a one-off livery that features Hong Kong’s iconic skyline. The aircraft is the second of 10 Boeing 747-8Fs and two more will be delivered before the end of the year. The new arrivals will be deployed primarily on Cathay Pacific’s ultra-long-haul routes, providing greater capacity and superior efficiency to the Boeing 747-400F.

The name of the aircraft is taken from Cathay Pacific’s very first 747 freighter which entered the fleet in 1982 and helped the airline begin to develop its position as one of the world’s biggest and most highly regarded international airfreight carriers. At the end of 1982, Cathay Pacific had just one freighter and carried 105,450 tonnes of freight. At the end of 2010, a record cargo year, the airline had a fleet of 20 wide-body freighters and carried 1,804,000 tonnes of freight across its global network.


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## lkiller123

*Midfield Development Breaks Ground*
*Press release*

*(HONG KONG, 9 December 2011) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) today held a grand groundbreaking ceremony for the Midfield development. Phase 1 of the project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2015.*

The Midfield area is the last piece of land on the airside for large-scale development on the airport island. It is located to the west of Terminal 1 and between the two existing runways. To maximise its usage, AAHK has worked closely with experts and stakeholders to enhance and finalise the design details of the project since the project was unveiled earlier this year. These include expanding the size of the Midfield Concourse and its adjacent apron area, as well as incorporating a wide range of green initiatives, such as installation of one of the largest arrays of rooftop solar panels in Hong Kong.

As a result, *the phase 1 Midfield project now includes the construction of a five-level Midfield Concourse with total floor area of 78,000 sq m and over 35 green features; 20 aircraft parking stands; an Automated People Mover (APM) extending from Terminal 1; a cross-field taxiway; and other supporting facilities.

The works are expected to cost HK$9 billion and create 2,000 jobs during construction. When completed, the airport will have an additional handling capacity of 10 million passengers per annum.*

Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng said, "Today we witness the kicking off of the construction works of the first phase of the midfield expansion development. With the completion of the expansion in 2015, we will be able to handle 10 million more passengers per year and provide more parking stands for both passengers and cargo operation. This is an important addition to the infrastructure inventory of the Hong Kong International Airport. Having regard to the increase in the air traffic demand, the midfield expansion project will be developed in phases to increase the airport's handling capacity to about 70 million passengers and six million tonnes of cargo, which is expected to cope with air traffic demand by 2020."

Ms Cheng said while projects and plans are well in place to take care of needs up to 2020, Hong Kong needs to take forward long term plans to meet future needs. Referring to a comprehensive three-month public consultation exercise conducted by the Airport Authority to collate public views on two strategic development options set out in the Master Plan 2030, the Secretary said, "We look forward to receiving a recommendation from the Authority on the way forward soon. We will study the recommendation carefully with a view to deciding as soon as we can on the next stage of work."

AAHK's Chairman Dr Marvin Cheung Kin-tung said, "While the phase 1 project development is to help HKIA cope with the increasing passenger traffic and needs for parking stands in the medium term, our efforts to pave the way for our long-term development continue. *We recently completed the three-month public consultation on the airport's Master Plan 2030, and we remain on course to submit our recommendations to the Government before the end of this month."*

AAHK's Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui Hon-chung added that the Midfield development is not only a milestone project to enhance the airport's handling capacity, but also an example of AAHK's commitment to environmental protection and sustainable growth. "The Midfield Concourse is designed to be highly environmentally friendly and aspires to be one of the first BEAM Plus Gold Standard certified buildings in Hong Kong. Its over 35 green initiatives cover various aspects ranging from the building's site, materials, energy and water use to construction methods. We hope that through our continuing efforts, the airport will grow with Hong Kong in a sustainable way."

BEAM Plus is a comprehensive assessment scheme to certify the environmental performance of buildings.

*The design of the Midfield Concourse adopts a multi-pronged strategy to achieve environmental protection. On the energy saving front, over 1,200 sq m of rooftop solar panels will be installed to harness renewable energy. Over 80% of the Concourse's lighting will be LED lights, and high-performance glazing panels, solar shading and north-facing skylights will be used to maximise natural light and reduce solar heat gain.*

Meanwhile, to reuse and recycle wherever possible is one of AAHK's core green values. During the Midfield Concourse construction, 60% of the waste produced will be recycled. When in operation, the Concourse will use recycled grey water, condensate water and rain water for the water-cooled chillers used in the air conditioning system. In addition, the APM system connecting Terminal 1 to the Concourse will use the energy generated from braking to support its operation.

These initiatives are expected to achieve energy saving of over 20% compared to the baseline established by the Building Energy Council, contributing to HKIA's goal of being not only one of the finest, but also the greenest, airports in the world.


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## hkskyline

*Mountain fear raised on third runway plan*
The Standard
Wednesday, July 11, 2012

A veteran pilot doubts whether government planners can get on top of mountainous challenges to a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

Retired Cathay Pacific senior first officer Jan Bochenski, with 21 years of flying experience, said he and many other pilots fail to see a way around problems unless there is a mountain-cutting plan.

The 957-meter Tai Mo Shan, the highest mountain in the territory, is in the middle of the flight path to the proposed third runway, Bochenski said, and pilots about to land will need to bank aircraft at a sharp angle.

But a towering concern, he said, is Castle Peak at 583m being in the middle of a third runway's essential escape route if something went wrong on landing.

He asked: "Is the government planning to cut down Castle Peak? Maybe." But how could a pilot face face such high ground if a plane lost an engine? This, he said, would be "impossible."

Even if all engines were functioning, Bochenski added, aircraft need considerable power to clear mountains.

He also said that if aircraft were to try to avoid facing Castle Peak this would crowd airspace occupied by those using the other two runways.

The Airport Authority has already discussed routes linked to a third runway with Britain's National Air Traffic Services.

An authority spokesman also said there would be enough "obstacle clearance" to meet requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization.


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## hkskyline

*Clearing the air on runway probe*
The Standard
Thursday, July 12, 2012

Airport Authority Hong Kong recently submitted further information for the project profile of Hong Kong International Airport's proposed expansion to a three-runway system.

That was in response to a request made by the director of environmental protection in June. The public can comment on the project and the new information to the director by tomorrow.

The airport authority is committed to carrying out the environmental impact assessment process in a transparent, engaging manner.

Some of the feedback received raises questions about: Our air traffic forecasts Safe operation of the three-runway system and The environmental information contained in the project profile.

I would like to clarify some misconceptions on these three critical areas.

On traffic forecasts, it has been noted that the growth in passenger demand included in the authority's master plan 2030 exceeds that of the design capacity in the 1992 new airport master plan by about 10 percent.

This has led some to believe that the airport may not truly be reaching its saturation point, and that the excess capacity for flight movements will be used predominantly for private jets.

The discrepancy between the forecasts is mainly because many of the working assumptions adopted in the early 1990s were based on the operating environment of Kai Tak airport, which was highly constrained and fully stretched.

At the time it was natural for airlines to maximize each valuable slot by deploying the biggest aircraft possible.

The 1992 plan therefore assumed that wide-bodied aircraft would comprise more than 80 percent of aircraft movements, resulting in a high average passenger load forecast of more than 300 people per aircraft.

The new airport at Chek Lap Kok provided more runway capacity, allowing airlines to increase their flight frequencies and service to secondary destinations.

This has enabled the authority to develop into an international and regional aviation hub, but it also led to the deployment of more narrow-bodied aircraft - mostly less than 200 seats.

Since 2000, the average passenger load per aircraft has decreased to about 190. In other words, it will take 437,000 aircraft movements instead of the 278,000 originally estimated in the 1992 plan to serve 87 million passenger trips.

In addition, from 1997 to 2010 the percentage of wide-bodied freighters decreased from 84 to 67 percent in favor of medium-sized aircraft.

Therefore, moving 8.9 million tonnes of cargo will take 108,000 aircraft movements instead of the 66,000 forecast.

Finally, it is important to note that civil aviation has always been and remains the authority's top priority. Business flights use only time slots that are not already occupied by scheduled flights, and they account for about 2 percent of the airport's total aircraft movements.

When considering future development and service, our primary goal will continue to put the needs of civil flights first.

On the safe operation of the three- runway system, the authority in conjunction with National Air Traffic Services has developed and designed the position and alignment of the third runway and its associated flight paths - including departure and missed approach flight path - in accordance with standards laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ensuring the obstacle clearance along the flight paths between an aircraft and ground obstacles meet the stipulated safety requirements.

The airspace management experts in the Civil Aviation Department also agree on the designs.

On the environmental impact assessment project profile, it must be emphasized that this is the first step in the process, designed to set out the project scope and identify potential environmental issues.

It is not intended to fully detail environmental impacts and mitigation measures, aspects which are reserved for the comprehensive study following the issuing of the study brief by the Department of Environmental Protection.

The airport authority has complied with all statutory guidelines for preparing the project profile and supplied all required information, and it has also committed to undertaking the air quality studies by benchmarking against the new air quality objectives which have yet to come into effect.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance carries a provision allowing the department to request information further to the project profile, which it has done.

The further information requested covering marine ecology, noise, health and hazards is intended to help the department draft the study brief.

The additional information includes updates on Chinese white dolphins; clarification that the airport authority has always planned to address all air pollutants under current and new air quality objectives (including NO2, ozone, PM10, PM2.5 and more) during the assessment; clarification that the preliminary aircraft noise contours prepared during master planning will be subject to further evaluation during the assessment; and clarification that the assessment will address the potential impact on all identified ecologically sensitive receivers and areas of potential ecological concern, including the Chek Lap Kok Marine Exclusion Zone, as well as the cumulative impacts associated with other major planned projects such as the Shek Kwu Chau incinerator.

It is important to remember that the submission of the project profile represents just the first step in a two-year process.

The actual assessment will address potential environmental impacts in all areas.

We value the feedback we receive as we explore all possible ways to avoid, minimize, mitigate and compensate for potential environmental impacts, and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with concerned stakeholders as the process unfolds.

Kevin Poole is deputy director, projects, at the Airport Authority Hong Kong


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## hkskyline

*Cathay Pacific welcomes Environmental Impact Assessment Study Brief for third runway option at HKIA*
11 August 2012
Press Release

Cathay Pacific Airways welcomes the Director of Environmental Protection’s issuance of a Study Brief for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said: “This is another important step forward in building a critically needed third runway for Hong Kong. As we have shared from the beginning, we believe a constructive community engagement will be able to identify and resolve any issues of concern. We are firm believers that economic development and environmental protection can go hand in hand for the betterment of Hong Kong.”

With air transportation playing a significant role in empowering Hong Kong’s economic success, Cathay Pacific has been a strong proponent of a third runway at HKIA. The airline has also stated that potential environmental issues surrounding the airport expansion must be explored and minimised. For its part, Cathay Pacific is continuing an aggressive fleet modernisation programme which helps reduce CO2 emissions, fuel usage and noise footprints. The airline currently has 99 new aircraft on order for delivery and will phase out less efficient aircraft as the new planes are delivered.

Cathay Pacific welcomes HKIA’s commitment to a comprehensive and thorough EIA process and looks forward to participating.


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## hkskyline

By *dc925* from a Hong Kong photography forum :


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## hkskyline

*Green groups see red over runway snub*
The Standard
Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Airport Authority has decided against embarking on a study to estimate the intangible social impact that a third runway will have on society, as demanded by environmental activists.

It will instead carry out a study according to World Bank and European Union standards to estimate the social and environmental impact of the runway.

That decision was to have been communicated to the activists in a meeting yesterday, but they saw red once they caught wind of what was in the air and refused to show up.

The study will be on top of the environmental impact assessment that is due to start this month.

The EIA is mandatory under the law to assess the effect of the runway on air quality, noise, marine ecology and fisheries and Chinese white dolphins.

Authority corporate development executive director Wilson Fung Wing-yip said the social return on the investment approach that green groups want adopted is mostly used for small-scale community or charity projects and unsuitable for large infrastructure developments.

"The methodology is usually used by volunteers and non-profit sectors and its indicators can be subjective," said Fung, reiterating there is no single method for evaluating social and environmental impact.

Plans to build a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport were shelved in 2010 largely because a social return study showed that the impact on people living near the airport outweighed the economic benefits.

Fung said the authority believes the World Bank and European Union standards offer a more comprehensive assessment of the social and environment impact of the project.

In addition to air quality and noise, which will be covered in the EIA, the World Bank methodology also covers the impact on climate change, utility relocation, resettlements and accidents.

Fung said the authority will complete the study as well as the EIA in two years.

Greeners Action chief executive Angus Ho Hon-wai was among those furious with the decision.

"They are showing a lack of commitment to a wider public consultation and refusing to provide more concrete information," said Ho, adding that his group is planning joint countermeasures with other green activists.

Friends of the Earth senior environmental affairs officer Melanie Chau Yuet-cheung said she fears the authority is refusing to commit to returning anything to community.


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## hkskyline

*Speech by SDEV at Construction Industry Council Conference 2012 *
Friday, September 28, 2012
Government Press Release _Excerpt_

Following is the speech delivered by the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, today (September 28) at the Construction Industry Council (CIC) Conference 2012 "Manpower Sustainability of Construction Industry cum Zero Carbon Building Development in Hong Kong":

S S (Chairman of the CIC Mr Lee Shing-see), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

We will also improve the connectivity of Hong Kong with other economies. For land routes, the Hong Kong and the Shenzhen authorities are building a seventh land-based boundary control point at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai, which will be the first boundary control point directly accessible by both pedestrians and private vehicles. This is a major project under the 12th National Five-Year Plan, and is scheduled for commissioning in 2018. *For air routes, to cope with air traffic demand up to 2020, the Airport Authority is taking forward a midfield expansion project at the Hong Kong International Airport to provide a new concourse, additional aircraft stands and apron facilities. These measures, when completed in 2015, will increase the annual handling capacity of the airport to 70 million passengers and 6 million tonnes of cargo. Environmental impact assessment for the third runway is under way and is expected to complete by the end of 2014.*


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## hkskyline

*LCQ7: The SkyPier*
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Government Press Release

Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (November 14):

Question:

In recent years, some members of the public have proposed that the Government should vigorously develop Lantau Island so as to strengthen Hong Kong's connection and integration with the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. On the other hand, some people have repeatedly urged the Government for years to open up the SkyPier at the Hong Kong International Airport for providing cross-boundary ferry services to non-transit passengers. Although the Government had told this Council's Panel on Economic Development in 2007 that it would consider the proposal, it later indicated that a review on whether there was such a need should be conducted after the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it knows the current annual maximum passenger handling capacity and the actual patronage of the SkyPier;

(b) whether it knows the annual increase in patronage of the SkyPier since the completion of the construction of SkyPier's permanent pier; whether it has assessed if the increase in patronage is satisfactory and the reasons for that; whether the Government will conduct an in-depth study on the growth in the patronage of the pier;

(c) whether the authorities will consider afresh opening up the SkyPier for cross-boundary services so as to strengthen Hong Kong's connection with the PRD region; if they will, whether they will consider providing cross-boundary ferry services other than those to and from Zhuhai and Macao, so as to avoid affecting the utilisation of HZMB upon its completion; and

(d) whether the authorities will consider expeditiously conducting a comprehensive review on the development plan of Lantau Island, so as to ensure that the development of Hong Kong's south-western areas will tie in with the rapid development of the PRD region?

Reply:

President,

Located at the Restricted Area of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the SkyPier provides convenient and speedy ferry services for air-to-sea/sea-to-air transit passengers travelling between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta (PRD)/Macao. Transit passengers via SkyPier with a valid air ticket or counterfoil of the boarding pass, a valid ferry ticket and a valid travel document can, without going through immigration procedures at the airport, board departing flight to other destinations or take a ferry at the SkyPier to the PRD or Macao. The Airport Authority (AA) must operate the SkyPier in accordance with the Deed of Security signed with the Administration in order to meet the security requirements for transit passengers and baggage.

(a) Based on AA's information, the four berths at the SkyPier can currently cope with a maximum of about 4 million transit passengers every year. In 2011, the transit passenger throughput of SkyPier was about 2.39 million.

(b) The SkyPier commissioned in January 2010. In 2011, the transit passenger throughput was 2.39 million, representing an increase of 6.7% over 2010 which was about 2.24 million. In the first nine months of 2012, the passenger throughput was 1.98 million, representing an increase of 10% over the same period last year.

There has been a steady growth in the transit passenger throughput of SkyPier. Its growth rates in recent years exceeded those of the overall passenger throughput of the HKIA (see the table below), mainly due to the persistent increase in the number of visitors from the Mainland and Southeast Asia in recent years.

Transit passenger Passenger
throughput of SkyPier throughput of HKIA
(million passengers) (million passengers)
-------------------------------------------------

2010 2.24 50.92
2011 2.39 (+6.7%) 53.90 (+5.9%)
2012 1.98 (+10%) 42.25 (+5.1%)
(as at
September)

(c) The land transport link between Hong Kong and the PRD region, particularly cities in the eastern part, has been well developed. Regarding sea transport, the two cross-boundary ferry terminals (CBFTs) currently managed by the Government (i.e. Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and China Ferry Terminal) provide cross-boundary ferry services to and from 11 PRD ports and Macao. The daily maximum handling capacities of the above two CBFTs add up to about 290,000. In 2011, the total peak daily patronage of the two terminals was only 130,000. It is expected that the two terminals will have sufficient capacity to meet the projected increase in patronage before the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) in 2016. As such, we consider it not necessary to plan the third government-managed CBFT at this stage.

We also do not see the need to expand the function of the SkyPier. As indicated by the statistics for the first three quarters of 2012, the average daily patronage of cross-boundary ferries was about 69,000, of which the services other than those between Hong Kong and Zhuhai/Macao only accounted for about 12.3%, i.e. around 8,500 passengers per day. Compared with the two CBFTs located in the city centre, the SkyPier is relatively far away from the urban area, making it not convenient for most residents in Hong Kong. As for inbound tourists, most of them will go sightseeing and shopping on the Hong Kong and Kowloon side apart from visiting scenic spots in Lantau. Therefore, the Government considers that the proposed provision of a CBFT at the SkyPier has limited effect on boosting visitor number from the Mainland and Macao, and that the patronage may not be sufficient to support the efficacy of the operation of the pier.

Furthermore, the main purpose of providing SkyPier service at HKIA is to provide speedy ferry services for air transit passengers travelling to and from the PRD and Macao. The existing SkyPier is located within the Airport Restricted Area where customs, immigration and quarantine facilities are not provided. If the SkyPier is to open for use by non-transit passengers, it would require expansion to fit in the necessary facilities and increase the handling capacity of the pier. As the relevant works would incur substantial capital investment and manpower requirement, it is not cost-effective based on the current situation. 

In view of the above, together with a further cross-boundary option to be provided by the HZMB in 2016 for travelling between Hong Kong and Macao as well as Hong Kong and cities on the western part of the Pearl River, we do not have plan to consider the opening the SkyPier for general immigration purposes.

(d) To fully capture the opportunities arising from the rapid development of the PRD region, the Government will enhance our transport link with the region to promote the overall development of Hong Kong.

Published by the Administration in 2007, the Revised Concept Plan for Lantau sets out the overall planning framework for a balanced and coordinated development of the island. According to the framework, North Lantau will focus on the development of major economic infrastructure and tourism uses to optimise the utilisation of the transport infrastructure. The rest of Lantau will be designated for nature conservation and environmentally sustainable recreational uses.

The Planning Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department launched the Tung Chung New Town Extension Study in January 2012 to identify the development potential and opportunities of Tung Chung. With a view to formulating a suitable proposal for Tung Chung New Town extension, the major infrastructure projects in the adjacent areas of Tung Chung, the need for environmental protection and nature conservation in the surrounding as well as the comments from and vision of the public for Tung Chung development will be taken into consideration. The first stage of public engagement for the Study ended in August this year and about 2,300 public views have been received. The Administration is analysing the views for the preparation of an initial development proposal. The second stage of public engagement is expected to commence next year.


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## hkskyline

The bottom long building is the new Civil Aviation Department headquarters.


Img330631nx2__conv by veryamateurish, on Flickr

Site map (from the government) :










Construction (from the government) :


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## hkskyline

*International pilots back plan for third runway at Hong Kong Airport*
International federation says members complain of delays because of growing air traffic, and that current capacity will not be sufficient in future
South China Morning Post Excerpt
Monday, 03 December, 2012

A group representing pilots around the world is backing plans for a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

The International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations, which has 100,000 members, said the city would eventually need a third runway because of increasing air traffic.

Its director of operations, Gideon Ewers, said from Britain: "My colleagues say they often face 30-minute delays as air traffic in Hong Kong grows."

The Airport Authority estimates the two-runway system will reach its maximum capacity of 420,000 flight movements annually between 2019 and 2022.

A three-runway system would be able to accommodate 620,000 flight movements a year.

One problem that increases airport congestion is that planes flying from Hong Kong into the mainland have to fly at a minimum of 15,700 feet.


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## hkskyline

*Airport Authority signs up dolphin activist for third runway assessment*
South China Morning Post Excerpt
Thursday, 06 December, 2012, 12:00am

A vocal opponent of the third runway proposed for Hong Kong International Airport says he agreed reluctantly to help the Airport Authority in carrying out its marine ecology assessment because the authority could not find any local experts for the task.

"Actually I do not want to do it. But they cannot find a local expert to do it so I decided to take part," said Samuel Hung Ka-yiu, chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society.

"Taking part in it does not mean I endorse this project," he added.

**************

The authority had adopted three methods to track dolphin activities in the area around the proposed reclamation area, said Peter Lee, its general manager of environment projects.

In one of those methods, marine experts take a small vessel four times a month on average to identify possible dolphin activities. In another, experts make use of four sets of devices to observe from the land dolphin activities five days a month.

"The advantage of this method is that it is fully non-invasive to dolphin activities," Lee said.

Hung has been helping the authority with these two methods.

In the third, five acoustic devices have placed under the water to identify dolphins by tracking their sounds. These three methods have been adopted in phases since October.

Apart from these assessments, marine experts have also begun other surveys including coral, the marine benthic area - the lowest part of the sea from the shore to the depths - and the areas between high and low tide.

**************

This part of the assessment is expected to be finished in September or October next year.

The authority said the total study area for dolphin activities covers 3,000 hectares.


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## Răng Đông Ri

hkskyline said:


> By *dc925* from a Hong Kong photography forum :


cool:cheers:


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## Yako1

hkskyline said:


> *Mountain fear raised on third runway plan*
> The Standard
> Wednesday, July 11, 2012
> 
> A veteran pilot doubts whether government planners can get on top of mountainous challenges to a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.
> 
> Retired Cathay Pacific senior first officer Jan Bochenski, with 21 years of flying experience, said he and many other pilots fail to see a way around problems unless there is a mountain-cutting plan.
> 
> The 957-meter Tai Mo Shan, the highest mountain in the territory, is in the middle of the flight path to the proposed third runway, Bochenski said, and pilots about to land will need to bank aircraft at a sharp angle.
> 
> But a towering concern, he said, is Castle Peak at 583m being in the middle of a third runway's essential escape route if something went wrong on landing.
> 
> He asked: "Is the government planning to cut down Castle Peak? Maybe." But how could a pilot face face such high ground if a plane lost an engine? This, he said, would be "impossible."
> 
> Even if all engines were functioning, Bochenski added, aircraft need considerable power to clear mountains.
> 
> He also said that if aircraft were to try to avoid facing Castle Peak this would crowd airspace occupied by those using the other two runways.
> 
> The Airport Authority has already discussed routes linked to a third runway with Britain's National Air Traffic Services.
> 
> An authority spokesman also said there would be enough "obstacle clearance" to meet requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization.


Want a third runway? use Kai tak.. hehe...


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## Yako1

Răng Đông Ri;98803873 said:


> cool:cheers:


So have they opened the other concourses?

Why don't they build the runway here, where the ' + ' symbol is located? it looks like a waste-land.. a waste of space... they can build a small runway for VIP jets or other small aircraft here...

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=22.3073705&lon=113.9106706&z=15&l=0&m=s&search=hong kong


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## hkskyline

Yako1 said:


> So have they opened the other concourses?
> 
> Why don't they build the runway here, where the ' + ' symbol is located? it looks like a waste-land.. a waste of space... they can build a small runway for VIP jets or other small aircraft here...
> 
> http://wikimapia.org/#lat=22.3073705&lon=113.9106706&z=15&l=0&m=s&search=hong kong


Don't think the horizontal separation is enough as it is very close to the other 2 existing runways. Also, if a plane overshoots, it will crash right into the passenger terminal, so that spot is not good for a runway. Instead, that plot of land is slated for passenger terminal expansion.


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## Yako1

hkskyline said:


> Don't think the horizontal separation is enough as it is very close to the other 2 existing runways. Also, if a plane overshoots, it will crash right into the passenger terminal, so that spot is not good for a runway. Instead, that plot of land is slated for passenger terminal expansion.


Oh, i see. That vacant spot has been the same ever since the airport opened in 1998.. Another option is to build a third runway on the southern side of Lantau, although this option sounds abit weird?

What they could also do is reclaim land west of CLK and build the third runway there..


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## stu1300

Wow


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## Obuyama

hkskyline said:


> By *dc925* from a Hong Kong photography forum :


Smokes - China?


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong Airport Authority to launch study into fourth runway*
Monday, 28 January, 2013, 2:49pm
South China Morning Post 

Hong Kong must face the question of whether a fourth airport runway will be needed by 2030, in a new strategic study, the transport minister said on Monday.

Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, secretary for transport and housing, told lawmakers in the commerce and economic development panel that the Airport Authority would launch a study about the strategic development of the airport beyond 2030.

“It will be a preliminary study into a development strategy beyond the 30’s,” said Cheung.

“Developments in Asian transport facilities will be examined, but the question of whether a fourth runway is needed will be unavoidable in the strategic study,” he said.

Last March the Executive Council supported the building of a third runway in principle. The authority is currently working on the environmental impact assessment for that project, which will involve reclaiming 600 hectares of land from the sea.

But the third runway will absorb the projected increase in air traffic demand only until 2030. The project is backed by the aviation industry but has drawn heavy criticism from environmental groups.

Cheung said the airport would continue to increase its handling capacity before the third runway was completed. By the end of next year, the airport will add 14 new aprons – areas where aircraft are parked, refuelled, boarded and so forth.


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## hkskyline

Midfield Terminal Construction
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/579/5794399.html 










Project launch press release : http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/press-releases/pr_1050.html


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## hkskyline

*LCQ4: Hong Kong International Airport's plan to build third runway*
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Government Press Release

Following is a question by the Hon Ng Leung-sing and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (February 27):

Question:

It has been reported that the "Overall Plan of Nansha New District of Guangzhou (2011-2030)", published by the Guangzhou Urban Planning Bureau last month, has revealed that the mainland authorities intend to build the second airport of Guangzhou in the southwestern part of Wanqinsha Town in Nansha District. In this connection, will the
Government inform this Council:

(a) whether it has assessed the challenges to Hong Kong and the co-operation opportunities between Guangdong and Hong Kong to be brought by the aforesaid airport construction project; and

(b) of the impact of the aforesaid airport construction project on the plan of the Hong Kong International Airport to build the third runway?

Reply:

President,

The Plan for the Development of Nansha New District of Guangzhou (2011-2030) proposes to study the development of a business jet airport in the area. According to our understanding, the proposed plan is still under study and details are yet to be available.

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is one of the world's busiest passenger and cargo airports whereas the above proposed airport development should be designed for business jets. The two airports differ in their positioning and major target users. The mutual influence between the two airports should therefore be insignificant. That notwithstanding, we will continue to keep in view the development of the proposed business jet airport, and assess the possible challenges and co-operation opportunities which may be brought to Hong Kong when more information is available.

Although there are already a few airports in the region, external connectivity is vital to maintaining Hong Kong's competitiveness and status as an international business and aviation centre. As such, it is crucial to ensure that HKIA has adequate facilities and capacity to meet the forecast air traffic demand. In 2012, the Government gave in-principle approval for the Airport Authority (AA) to adopt the three-runway system as the future development plan for HKIA. AA is taking forward the specific planning work relating to the three-runway system, including the statutory environmental impact assessment, associated design details and financing arrangements, etc. When the relevant assessments and other information are available, the Government will make the final decision on the implementation of the three-runway system. Currently, the three-runway system is expected to commence operation in 2023.


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## hkskyline

*Lai Sun eyes hotels amid rise in visitors*
5 March 2014
South China Morning Post 

Years after it demolished two five-star hotels it owned in Central to make way for office projects, midsize developer Lai Sun Development is looking to re-enter the hospitality industry in Hong Kong.

*The firm will enter the bidding to build a hotel on Lantau Island. The Airport Authority of Hong Kong invited expressions of interest from developers to build a 1,200-room hotel of at least a three-star grade on part of the SkyCity car park near the AsiaWorld-Expo.

The tendering to build the hotel closes on March 31.*

“We see demand for hotel rooms far outstripping supply, as the city has only about 60,000 rooms,” Lai Sun deputy chairman Chew Fook Aun said.

The government recently predicted 70 million tourists would visit the city per year by 2017.

In October, Lai Sun, chaired by Peter Lam Kin-ngok, who is also chairman of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, said it would invest HK$4.1 billion to build a 495-room resort hotel in Ocean Park. It beat six firms to win the tender.

The Ocean Park hotel, with a total gross floor area of 366,000 square feet, will be managed by Marriott International and is slated to open by early 2017.

It will be Lai Sun’s first hotel in Hong Kong since it demolished the 28-year-old, 517-room Furama Hotel in 2001. The grade A offices of AIA Central now occupy that site.

In 2008, Lai Sun tore down the 216-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel, adjacent to the Furama, to make way for the development of the CCB Tower. The firm has a 10 per cent stake in AIA Central and a 50 per cent share of CCB Tower.

Lai Sun owns 95 per cent of the Starr Hotel in Shanghai and a 26 per cent stake in the Caravelle Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Chew said Lai Sun was expanding its holdings to increase its rental income.

With the opening of its commercial-retail project in Observatory Road, Tsim Sha Tsui – a 50-50 joint venture with Henderson Land Development – and its Ocean Park hotel, the company’s investment portfolio will expand 31 per cent to 1.84 million sq ft in 2017, according to Chew.

On the mainland, Lai Sun’s investment portfolio would increase to 5.61 million sq ft by 2019, up 128 per cent from 2.45 million sq ft at present, Chew said. Its mainland property development subsidiary, Lai Fung, and a unit of eSun will develop a 2.8 million sq ft “creative culture city” in Hengqin, the special economic zone off Zhuhai.

At the end of 2012, Lai Sun joined ousted Sun Hung Kai Properties chairman Walter Kwok Ping-sheung in buying a residential site in Tseung Kwan O for HK$2.86 billion, or HK$4,929 per sq ft.

“Taking into account construction costs, the total cost will be HK$8,000 per sq ft. Current transaction prices are more than HK$10,000 per sq ft in Tseung Kwan O. Our flats will enjoy a full sea view. The land price is okay,” he said.


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## hkskyline

*Airport chief eyes start on third runway in September*
The Standard
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

The environmental assessment report will be ready by the end of this month and work on the third runway at the Hong Kong International Airport could begin as early as September.

Airport Authority chief executive Stanley Hui Hon-chung told The Standard's sister paper, Sing Tao Daily, the report will be submitted to the Environmental Protection Department at the end of March and he expects to receive the environmental permits by September.

Hui said the report will include the impact of reclamation on the ecology and its impact on human health, as well as possible solutions. It will also deal with noise pollution. 

As an example, Hui said the technology coping with air quality affected by takeoffs and landings has been improving. Emission has been reduced to only 2 percent of the air pollutants while flight capacity has been increased.

The authority's target will be to reduce emission by half in 2050, Hui said, adding that it has also promised not to make further reclamation. "I personally think further reclamation is impossible. We should put a stop there."

Hui said international experts invited to study the Chinese white dolphins found that they would leave the area during construction but will return after the work is completed. He said the authority may also work with Ocean Park to set up shore parks in order to relieve the impact on the dolphins.

If green groups refuse to accept international standards, "I have nothing to add," Hui said.

Hui stressed the urgency of a third runway as the number of passengers, freight and flights have increased from 1,000 flights each day on average last summer to about 1,100 flights this year.

The daily maximum capacity of 1,200 flights could soon be reached, Hui said.

The authority is studying the development of the North Commercial District and a "concrete working scheme" will be ready by the middle of the year.

Commercial development needs to be considered when the number of passengers increase, Hui said.

He said the construction costs, which are about HK$130 billion, have increased sharply from HK$86.2 billion in 2010 and could increase further if there are more delays.


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## hkskyline

*Running out of options*
For Hong Kong to remain as a regional hub, the government must proceed soon with building a third runway at Chek Lap Kok or risk losing out to rivals 
10 April 2014 
South China Morning Post

Can Shenzhen airport and the other Pearl River Delta airports ride in like white knights to save the day for Hong Kong's increasingly congested Chek Lap Kok?

As environmental lobbyists continue to grab at any available straw to block construction of a third runway at the airport, it has often been claimed that airports in the delta can fly in to Hong Kong's rescue. 

These lobbyists are not wrong to force the Hong Kong government to turn over every possible stone to find an alternative to building a third runway, which would be horribly expensive and the construction of which would inevitably result in inconveniences and dislocations.

But I can say with confidence they will find exactly what I found when I went through the same stone-turning exercise three years ago. The frustrating but consistent finding of the study I published in June 2011 - "Meeting future capacity challenges at the Hong Kong International Airport: Assessing the potential of alternatives to constructing a third runway" - was that we have no choice but to press ahead as speedily as possible with a third runway.

From as early as 2016, we face increasingly severe airport congestion, whatever temporary palliatives are discovered. The longer the delay, the more severe will be the diversion of business activity to competing regional hubs.

And I can promise you, I turned over every stone I could find: extending airport operating hours; increasing flights per hour from the current 60 to 80 or so; shifting flights to Macau or Zhuhai; collaborating with Shenzhen; and prioritising wide-bodied aircraft, as we were forced to do in the dying days of Kai Tak airport.

I combed the world for examples of neighbouring airports that collaborated with each other in air traffic management. I compared the five airports in the delta with the five surrounding London to see where synergies might be developed. Each avenue of investigation ran quickly into a dead end:

Flights per hour can be increased only gradually, and - because of the location in the shadow of Lantau Peak - can never be increased to the levels of an airport like Heathrow.

Airport operating hours were already being extended at maximum speed, with limits imposed by the need to maintain the runway and ensure other maintenance and safety work.

Macau's ultimate capacity, as with Zhuhai, is pitifully small, in the region of 7.2 million passengers - woefully inadequate for Hong Kong's airport, facing growth of four million passengers per year.

Shenzhen was expanding like Topsy to keep abreast of its own demand growth: there may be a tiny window between now and 2016 when Shenzhen could "gift" to Hong Kong some spare capacity, but after that, Shenzhen itself will face capacity constraints. And to put it politely, Shenzhen's airport managers made it clear that they had no intention of gifting runway capacity to what they see as their primary competitor.

As I twisted and turned around every potential solution, the same answer returned again and again. Whatever palliatives Hong Kong discovers, we will be subject to capacity constraints from 2016, and they would become increasingly severe thereafter.

Worse still, even if the imminent environmental impact assessment for the third runway proves positive and the Legislative Council gives speedy approval to the gigantic funding need, there is no realistic possibility of the third runway being ready before 2024 - by which time, on my calculations of passenger and cargo growth in the coming decade, there will already be a pressing need for a fourth runway.

In 2011, my report to airport officials and government bosses was bleak and unwelcome. If we were going to need a fourth runway by 2024, then they ought to be pressing for that now.

And if the costs of a third and fourth runway were as high as predicted, then a truly strategic government would be looking to build a wholly new airport, since it would clearly be cheaper. You can imagine the hyperventilation in government that followed.

The message from the data is nevertheless crystal clear: Hong Kong faces an urgent choice - either to move at speed to build a third runway, at the same time capturing every possible palliative to buy time, or wilfully to "gift away" to Shenzhen, Guangzhou or other as-yet built regional airports all the growth arising from Hong Kong beyond the middle of this decade.

The harm of following the second option would be incalculable, as the virtuous economic circle created by Hong Kong's rare international hubbing role dissolved and dispersed to other hubs in the region only too eager to capture business from the city.

The urgent need is for decisive government action. But as we all know, decisiveness is not something strongly associated with our current administration. We should all be anxious about the price we will pay for procrastination.

David Dodwell is the executive director of the Hong Kong-Apec Trade Policy Group


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## hkskyline

*Bill for third runway 'set to climb by $50b' *
The Standard
Tuesday, April 22, 2014

The construction cost of the projected third runway could exceed its original HK$130 billion budget by as much as HK$50 billion.

Building a new runway has been proposed by the government on estimates that Hong Kong International Airport will reach its capacity by 2019.

But a source told Sing Tao Daily, sister publication of The Standard, that the new estimate for the runway has reached nearly HK$150 billion. If salaries and prices of construction materials continue to rise, the final budget may hit HK$180 billion.

The source added the Airport Authority has hired consultants to study the financing while it discusses arrangements with the government. 

The source also said the original estimate was low since the plan was drafted in 2008 and completed in 2011, when the economy was weak due to the financial tsunami.

With construction costs on the rise, the bill may be even bigger if there are delays.

The authority has completed the environmental impact assessment and is ready to submit it to the Environmental Protection Department, the source said. The department may demand extra information from the authority within two months of receiving the report.

If the EPD approves the environmental permit, the authority must submit the third runway design and financing arrangements to the government.

Once this is approved by the Executive Council, the authority can get construction started.

The EPD said yesterday it has yet to receive the impact assessment.

With the third runway, the airport will be able to handle more than 620,000 flights annually compared to the current 420,000 flights, satisfying the traffic demands in 2030.

Authority board member Raymond Ho Chung- tai said the original budget was only an estimate. Ho said runway construction is complicated and the budget will have to be increased.

Ho said before the authority can request funding, it has to obtain the environmental permit.

Engineering sector lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok said construction costs have been increasing over the past two to three years.

He said the industry is experiencing a manpower shortage and there had been little doubt a third runway would cost more than its original estimate.

He added the final budget will depend on the design and the technology used in the construction.


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## hkskyline

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/607/6071682.html


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## hkskyline

*Environmental report key to future of third runway*
21 June 2014
South China Morning Post	



















Public must accept assessment on airport expansion, which green groups say will harm marine environment

The fate of Hong Kong’s costliest infrastructure project – a third airport runway – hinges on how well the public accepts the results of an environmental impact assessment (EIA) unveiled yesterday.

Adding another runway would boost the capacity of the airport by about 44 per cent by 2023 to meet expected growth in air traffic. The existing two runways are forecast to reach capacity in 2019, according to the Airport Authority.

But environmentalists worry the project, the city’s biggest since the construction of the airport in the mid-1990s, could spell disaster for the area’s marine ecology because 672 hectares of seabed will be reclaimed.

They say endangered Chinese white dolphins living in or using the affected habitats off Lantau will be threatened, despite a pledge by the Airport Authority to expand a marine park when work is complete.

The authority’s chairman, Vincent Lo Hong-sui, called the results of the two-year EIA study, which is now subject to public consultation, the “most comprehensive” ever conducted in Hong Kong.

“Hong Kong International Airport is strategically important to sustaining the [the city’s] development and economy,” he said. “This is why we are doing everything practicable to address the likely environmental impacts.”

No one from the authority had anything to say yesterday about the final price tag for the project, which was initially estimated at HK$136 billion but is expected to be tens of billions of dollars higher.

Tommy Leung King-yin, general manager for projects, said it was in the process of updating the cost, which would take into account all mitigation measures covered in the environmental impact report.

The airlines and logistics sector have thrown their weight behind the project, which they see as vital to maintaining the city’s status as a regional aviation hub. The airport is among the region’s busiest in terms of passenger and cargo throughput. The authority estimates the third runway (pictured on the right with a new terminal in an artist’s impression) could deliver HK$912 billion in economic benefits over 50 years. But green activists say the social and environmental costs, including carbon emissions, could also be in the hundreds of billions.

As well as the issue of the dolphins, the report addresses the project’s impact on air and water quality and noise pollution. It concludes they will be acceptable with mitigation measures. But green groups say the authority made assumptions favourable to the project in the assessment.

Public consultation on the report will be open until July 19, after which the head of the Environmental Protection Department will make a decision on the project, based on views submitted by the public and the Advisory Council on the Environment.

Environmentalists said while they had faith in the assessment system, they feared the advisory council was just a “rubber stamp”.

“There are conservationists and academics sitting on this council, but there are also many who are pro-government,” said Edwin Lau Che-feng, Friends of the Earth’s head of advocacy and an ex-council member.

Projects have rarely been rejected since the EIA Ordinance came into force in 1995.


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong needs a third runway*
26 June 2014
China Daily	

Last week the Airport Authority (AA) announced the results of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the proposed third runway. According to the report, assessments have been performed in 12 areas covering the impact on air and noise pollution as well as upon Chinese white dolphins and fish. Needless to say, the construction of such infrastructure would affect the natural environment. The third runway is no exception.

The key is that the EIA report discusses remedial measures to minimize any negative impact on the environment. In general, the report is positive on construction of the third runway. If one looks into the EIA report in depth, it is evident that our society is keen to protect the environment. So naturally, economic development cannot be overemphasized at the expense of the environment.

However, it is also true that Hong Kong greatly needs the third runway to facilitate economic development. According to figures released by the AA, it is projected that the Hong Kong International Airport's (HKIA) capacity will reach saturation point in 2019. But strong growth in air traffic in recent years means it could reach this point even earlier. Revised estimates suggest that capacity may be saturated as early as 2016. There is already considerable pressure on capacity at the airport, so we need to expand it to cater for growing demand.

Furthermore, with Hong Kong's successful transformation into a service-based economy - with currently 92 percent of GDP derived from service industries - an efficient airport is vital as the principle point of connection both for people going overseas and for overseas visitors coming to Hong Kong. This is of particular importance to the finance industry. The industry is catering to high-end clients and professionals who need to fly to Hong Kong on business. The lack of an efficient airport inhibits development of the financial services sector, for this reason HKIA needs an upgrade - a third runway would be an important step in the right direction.

In terms of services, HKIA ranks high internationally, which means it is well suited to its role as a regional aviation hub. Its excellent standard of aviation services has brought many other businesses to the territory. From a social perspective, this generates many employment opportunities for the city. Recently, HKIA created nearly 80,000 jobs at many different levels from highly skilled to lower-level positions, benefiting many people. This was also very beneficial for the working population of Tung Chung. It also means Tung Chung residents do not need to travel long distances to work in the city.

Aside from the economic advantages, the third runway can also help consolidate Hong Kong's position as an aviation hub. In the nearby Pearl River Delta, there are five international airports: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Macao. There is already stiff competition among these five international airports. If Hong Kong does not continue to excel in providing world-class aviation services, it could lose its leading edge as a premier aviation hub.

Those who visit airports in Guangzhou and Shenzhen will naturally take note of the facilities and services there and compare them with Hong Kong. In terms of aviation charges HKIA is more expensive, but the SAR retains its competitive edge because of its high quality of service. However, we cannot just rely solely upon our soft services. We need to ensure we constantly upgrade our infrastructure. If our airport lacks the appropriate hardware, some flights will not come here. They will move to nearby airports instead. Once we lose them, we will lose them forever. The third runway is the best way to deal with this tough competition. It can provide us with much needed capacity to ensure we remain competitive in future.

Another important reason for adding capacity to HKIA is it will create room for the entry of low-cost carriers (LCC). LCC have helped travelers and the logistics sector reduce costs. This will further boost tourism and the logistics sector. Hong Kong actually lags behind other leading aviation hubs in the development of LCC. A major reason for this is that there is not enough space for more airline companies. A third runway will provide extra capacity for LCC and bring benefits to travelers and the logistics industry.

Construction of a third runway will boost economic development. We all know this will also affect the environment. The Airport Authority's EIA report makes this clear. So we need to strike a balance between environmental protection and economic development. But we should not adopt a "do nothing" approach just for the sake of the environment. Equally, we should not over-emphasize the economic benefits to the detriment of the environment. The key is to undertake sustainable economic development.

The author is dean of the School of Business at Hang Seng Management College.


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## hkskyline

4/26


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## hkskyline

*Fears of rising costs with runway delay*
27 June 2014
The Standard

Airport Authority chief executive Stanley Hui Hon-chung says it is too soon to say if a third runway at Chek Lap Kok will cost up to HK$200 billion.

The estimate was HK$136.2 billion in a masterplan in 2011.

Hui now says the authority will complete an assessment of the cost of a third runway by the end of the year.

``As the construction of the third runway is a large-scale project, any minor change will have an impact on the cost,'' he said on a radio program yesterday.

But judging by views of the engineering sector, he added, ``it will not be a surprise if the overall cost will soar if the project is delayed further.''

The authority wants to start on a new runway in 2016, with completion in 2023. If it goes beyond 2023, an outlay of another HK$9 billion a year is seen.

On the same program, authority environment projects general manager Peter Lee tried to dismiss concerns of conservation groups that reclamation for the runway would seriously affect the habitat of the Chinese white dolphin.

Dolphins are intelligent enough not to stay in work areas, Lee argued. That was seen when building the airport in the 1990s, but the dolphins returned.

The authority sees a marine park of 2,400 hectares in 2023, but critics say the overall plan amounts to damaging habitat and then trying to conserve it.

An environmental study can be seen on the Environmental Protection Department's website until July 19.


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## hkskyline

* Airport emission results doubted*
11 July 2014
South China Morning Post	

Green group fears air quality projections, less than for the adjacent delta bridge project, could be manipulated to stay within objectives

A green group is concerned that the projected air quality for a proposed third runway at Hong Kong’s airport could be “manipulated” to stay within environmental objectives.

Friends of the Earth pointed out yesterday that projections for a third runway, given in an environmental impact report released last month, are less than the estimates given about five years ago for the adjacent Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge project.

“We are worried that different assumptions can be adopted or even manipulated to avoid breaching the air quality objectives,” Friends of the Earth assistant environmental affairs manager Melonie Chau Yuet-cheung said yesterday.

“If that’s the case, it is a very dangerous move that will render the assessment useless,” she said.

In the assessment for the bridge, carried out in 2008-09, nitrogen dioxide levels at Sha Lo Wan on North Lantau were projected to be 44 to 47 micrograms per cubic metre in 2031.

The bridge is currently under construction.

But in the runway assessment, conducted in the past two years and taking into account both projects, the level at the same location in the same year was projected to be 36 micrograms per cubic metre.

The bridge is linked to the eastern tip of the airport.

The group cited four other locations – including two schools and two residential blocks – in Tung Chung, where the air quality was projected to be better, taking into account both projects.

Chau said that while both projects used exactly the same modelling software to assess air quality, different assumptions yielded different results.

She said that apart from considering emissions from the project itself, the projection would also include emissions from nearby sources as well as regional air quality changes.

She suspected that the difference stemmed from the fact that the boundary crossing assumed regional air quality would flatten at 2015 levels, while the runway report assumed this would happen in 2020.

Chau said Guangdong’s air quality now played a critical role in determining if a project in Hong Kong was likely to breach air quality objectives.

She also said that Lantau was already close to the air pollution limits and squeezing in more development would be impossible without breaching the pollution targets.

And she questioned whether the assessment should cover a recent proposal for a man-made island east of Lantau.

The Airport Authority has said its assessment was based on the most up-to-date data.

It said various factors had been considered, including the proposed emission reduction measures to be adopted by the airport, and cross-border emission reduction targets for 2020 set out in 2012.


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## hkskyline

_Stupid people who don't know the world of aviation is very much about narrowbody jets, too._

*Let logic take off and keep airport for wide-body jets*
15 July 2014
South China Morning Post

Airport chiefs are ignoring inefficiencies in the use of its two runways as they seek to justify a third, concerned groups say.

They questioned the need for the multibillion-dollar expansion of Chek Lap Kok after analysis of a million flights between 2010 and 2012 highlighted low operational efficiency of the existing runway.

SCMP, July 14

I can make a much stronger case of inefficient use of the airport than these concerned groups have done. I can make it from the Airport Authority’s own studies.

Here follows an excerpt from a discussion paper written two years ago by Kevin Poole, the airport’s deputy director of projects:

“... many of the working assumptions adopted in the early 1990s were based on the operating environment of Kai Tak Airport, which was highly constrained and fully stretched. At the time it was natural for airlines to maximise each valuable slot by deploying the biggest aircraft possible.

“The 1992 NAMP [New Airport Master Plan] therefore assumed that wide-bodied aircraft would comprise over 80% of aircraft movements, resulting in a high average passenger load forecast of more than 300 people per aircraft.

“The new airport at Chek Lap Kok provided more runway capacity, allowing airlines to increase their flight frequencies and service to secondary destinations. This has enabled HKIA to develop into an international and regional aviation hub, but it also led to the deployment of more narrow-bodied aircraft (mostly less than 200 seats).

“Since 2000, the average passenger load per aircraft has decreased to about 190. In other words, it will take 437,000 aircraft movements instead of the 278,000 originally estimated in the NAMP to serve 87 million passenger trips.

“In addition, from 1997 to 2010 the percentage of wide-bodied freighters decreased from 84% to 67% in favour of medium-sized aircraft. Therefore, moving 8.9 million tonnes of cargo will take 108,000 aircraft movements instead of the 66,000 forecast by the NAMP.”

And there you have the big secret that the Airport Authority wishes to keep hidden from us when demanding that we build a third runway for it.

The reason that our new airport has been plugged up earlier than expected is that it has 57 per cent more passenger aircraft movements than the old airport did relative to the number of passengers it handles and 64 per cent more cargo aircraft movements.

Having two runways instead of just the single one at old Kai Tak was a convenience that the airlines exploited to run far more flights of small Boeing 737s and other such microlights, many of them half empty, to minor towns in the mainland.

And now that the new airport is reaching capacity in the number of flights it can handle, they baulk at the obvious step of reserving use of it for larger aircraft as they did at Kai Tak.

Instead they expect us to suit their convenience by building another runway at a cost of up HK$200 billion so that they can continue misusing the airport by operating unsuitably small aircraft to unsuitable destinations. We spoiled them at Chek Lap Kok and they now consider the privilege their right.

But there is a very good way of letting the truth out here. Let the mighty Hong Kong dollar speak. If the airlines think that a third runway is worth HK$200 billion in convenience to their passengers, then they should be glad to make these passengers pay for it. Just allocate landing slots by auction. When the revenue from these auctions becomes sufficient to satisfy financial markets that the airport can service a HK$200 billion bond issue, then we can hit the Go button on a third runway.

And if it is not sufficient, if the passengers on the small aircraft that Chek Lap Kok now accommodates would rather save money by flying to Shenzhen and taking a bus across the border, then we could reserve Chek Lap Kok for proper use by wide-body aircraft.

So, thank you, Mr Poole, for letting the secret slip. It hasn’t slipped again since you let it out two years ago, but once was enough.


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## hkskyline

*Let spoiled airlines fund Hong Kong's third runway, not the public purse*
22 July 2014
South China Morning Post	

An association representing 2,500 pilots in Hong Kong has voiced support for a third airport runway, saying air traffic congestion during peak hours is already forcing planes to wait 15 minutes or more to take off.

This third runway crowd is certainly getting mighty casual with our money in its demands that we lay out up to HK$200 billion to save airline customers the inconvenience of taking a flight at a not entirely suitable time.

These travellers must wait for 15 minutes if they travel at peak hours. What horror. How can they possibly put up with it? Surely Hong Kong is obliged to remedy this breach of human rights.

Don't get me wrong. I am all in favour of a third runway if air passengers and cargo shippers are willing to pay for it. Any financier, given data that the airport authority has ready to hand, can work out in less than 10 minutes what this would amount to per traveller.

If airline customers are willing to pay it, well and good. We can call in the dredgers and start work tomorrow. If they are not willing to pay it, then here is the big question: Why should the Hong Kong public purse pay for something that the beneficiaries themselves say is not worth their while?

Just auction the landing slots at peak hours and we will soon find out what price airline passengers set on reducing a 15 minute wait. It will be a good deal less than HK$200 billion, however you cut it.

The airlines misuse our airport at present with flights of unsuitably small aircraft to unsuitably minor destinations in China. These should be served by other regional airports. We run 57 per cent more flights at Chek Lap Kok than we did at the old Kai Tak airport for the same number of passengers.

And here are some further examples of how casual the Airport Authority is with your money:

Did you know that these people have so far spent HK$694 million on consultancy for this third runway project although the go-ahead stage is not even in sight yet? It certainly was the fanciest all-singing, all-dancing consultation paper in Hong Kong's history.

But what's a hundred million here or there? Or a billion, which it will soon be at this rate. Loose change, that's all, nothing really compared to what they expect us to spend if the project actually gets going.

And another example, courtesy of that sleuth of uncomfortable corporate facts, David Webb. Did you know that the airport's landing and parking charges are now an average of 15 per cent less than they were in 1998?

It's a fact - reduced from 1998. This same airport authority that wants to dig into our pockets for HK$200 billion is itself so in the pockets of the airlines that, while begging money from us, it substantially cut what it charges them.

Let's put this into further perspective. It did so despite having on hand an independent study by a reputable British air traffic consultant, LeighFisher, that our airport's charges were far lower than worldwide counterparts, the 54th lowest of 55 international airports covered.

You wonder how it happens. It's our airport. We paid for it. But the people we hire to run it do so not in our interests but in the interests of corporations that have not put a cent into it. Why?

I imagine their excuse is that the airport is already profitable enough, with earnings for the last financial year of HK$6.45 billion representing a 15.1 per cent return on equity.

It's notable, however, that this included income of HK$7.5 billion from shop rentals and other commercial revenue. The airport operations themselves ran at a loss or pretty close to it.

Oh, but you have to put the two together, say the airlines.

Nonsense. Shall shops in Causeway Bay be made to subsidise the Mass Transit Railway for bringing in their customers? Actually, I like that idea. We shall see if the airlines will join me in proposing it. They argue it for the airport. Why not for Causeway Bay?

The fact is, we spoiled them rotten and now they think it's their right.


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## hkskyline

7/27


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## hkskyline

*Third runway has backing of 2,500-strong pilots group*
21 July 2014
South China Morning Post

An association representing 2,500 pilots in Hong Kong has voiced support for a third airport runway, saying air traffic congestion during peak hours is already forcing planes to wait for 15 minutes or more to take off.

This has resulted in higher fuel usage and carbon emissions, according to the Hong Kong Airline Pilots Association, which represents pilots at Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express.

Sticking to just two runways could affect the city's competitiveness and status as a global aviation hub, the association's president, Captain Darryl Soligo, said.

"During peak times, it is not unusual to wait at the holding point for more than 15 minutes before take-off, with up to 10 aircraft waiting," Soligo said.

"Arrival is different. Most times of the day, we need to slow down from our optimal descent speed to get into sequence, and holding is not unusual during peak times.

"These practices will increase airtime, thus in turn increasing fuel burn and emission."

Debate over whether Chek Lap Kok airport needs a third runway was reignited after the Airport Authority, which in 2011 estimated the project would cost HK$136 billion, released its long-awaited environmental impact assessment report last month.

One of the authority's consultants, Dr Thomas Jefferson, has said a decrease in dolphin numbers was to be expected during construction.

On green matters, Soligo said he could only say that "if congestion increased, more emissions would come as a result".

His argument was challenged by Friends of the Earth assistant environmental affairs manager Melonie Chau Yuet-cheung.

Chau said an extra runway would mean more flights coming in and out of the city, ultimately increasing emissions.

She believed the existing runways could handle more than the roughly 60 flight movements now recorded per hour, pointing to the authority's 1992 report that said the system could in fact handle 86 flights.

But the Civil Aviation Department has said the 1992 report does not consider factors including the surrounding landscape.

In 2011, the authority wrote that the dual-runway system would reach its practical capacity between 2019 and 2022.

However, the International Air Transport Association reportedly suggested in its latest review that this might come between one and three years earlier than the authority had suggested.

If airlines in Hong Kong wanted to expand without a third runway, Soligo said "they either have to depart very late in the evening, after midnight, or very early in the morning. For freight operations this may be OK, but passengers do not prefer these timings."

He also called for an easing of mainland regulations that required planes from Hong Kong to fly at a minimum of 15,700 feet.

The rule means mainland-bound planes must ascend suddenly, creating traffic problems. Soligo said lowering the restriction would ease congestion and allow for more flights.


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## hkskyline

*'Wishful thinking' on dolphins slammed*
The Standard
Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The Airport Authority announced four extra measures to help conserve Chinese white dolphins after work on the proposed third runway is complete.

That came in a meeting with an Environmental Protection Department subcommittee, which criticized the authority for "wishful thinking" that dolphins fleeing their Lantau habitat will return.

Authority general manager Peter Lee Chung-tang said traffic volume at SkyPier would be capped at 99 ferry trips per day, originally predicted to rise to 115 in 2021 and 130 in 2030.

And to be funded is a marine ecology conservation management plan for the dolphins in south Lantau waters. 

Night studies will be carried out on dolphin activity and funding provided for a conservation strategy in the Pearl River Estuary. The authority submitted its environmental impact assessment report to the related subcommittee under the EPD's Advisory Council on the Environment at the meeting, which continues tomorrow and Monday.

Dolphin specialists Thomas Jefferson and Bernd Wursig, advisers to the authority on the report, said dolphins are smart and it is believed they will return after work on the third runway is over.

But subcommittee vice chairman Hung Wing-tat, associate professor of civil and structural engineering at Polytechnic University, criticized the EIA report for lacking scientific evidence.

Hung said: "I swear it is wishful thinking. If there is a piece of scientific evidence, I will take back my words."


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## hkskyline

*New runway ‘set to be a white elephant’*
11 August 2014
South China Morning Post

A third runway at Chek Lap Kok airport will become another “white elephant”, groups opposed to the plan say.

Neither Terminal Two, built in 2007, nor the HK$1 billion North Satellite Concourse, have helped the airport increase efficiency or flight capacity, according to environmental group Green Sense and the Airport Development Concern Network.

The groups are making a last-ditch attempt to highlight the fallacies of building a third runway before the Advisory Council on the Environment begins the first of several meetings today to discuss results of a public inspection of an environmental report.

The fate of Hong Kong’s costliest infrastructure project hinges on how well the public accepts the results of the environmental assessment.

However, the groups are urging the committee to declare the environment report “no go” until it provides alternative solutions to the third runway.

“Terminal Two has no air bridges and only serves departures, not arrivals,” said network spokesman Michael Mo.

“Some of the commercial space has nothing to do with travel. The concourse, meanwhile, serves just 10 aircraft, can only be reached by bus and only serves narrow-bodied aircraft used by very few passengers,” he added.

He urged the airport to stop allowing so many narrow body jets flying to third and fourth tier cities to use up valuable airspace and timeslots.

An Airport Authority spokesman said carriers decided their own aircraft mix.

Lam Chiu-ying, now adjunct professor at the Chinese University’s department of geography and resources, said the airport operator had “bungled” management of the facility and had no justification to ask for a third runway.

Roy Tam Hoi-pong of Green Sense said: “If they can’t use the existing two runways at maximum operational efficiency then a third won’t change anything. It will just be another white elephant.”


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## hkskyline

*Runway advisers hold back on giving the nod*
20 August 2014
South China Morning Post	

Airport officials’ measures to protect dolphins during building of third airstrip ‘unconvincing’, says subcommittee studying impact report

Prospects for a proposed third runway at Hong Kong International Airport seemed uncertain yesterday as environment advisers delayed their decision on whether to approve its environmental impact assessment study.

The advisers – from a subcommittee under the Advisory Council on the Environment – were concerned about how adequate and effective measures to mitigate the project’s impact on the threatened Chinese white dolphin habitat would be.

If the study is approved and the HK$130 billion project is given the go-ahead, some 650 hectares of prime habitat for the shrinking dolphin population would be lost to land reclamation for the third runway. Construction would last from 2016 to 2023.

The Airport Authority will respond in writing to further queries from the subcommittee, before another meeting on Monday for the advisers to deliberate their decision.

The subcommittee, which has spent 15 hours in three days grilling the authority’s officials on the environmental impact assessment study, met yesterday afternoon to discuss whether to recommend the advisory council to endorse the report.

But by the end of the meeting, it had still not drawn a conclusion on the city’s single most costly infrastructure project. The council has to submit its views by late next month to the environmental protection director, who will then decide whether to issue a work permit for the project.

A subcommittee member, who wanted to remain anonymous, said members at the meeting “freely expressed their opinions” about the report and what outstanding issues had to be further addressed by the authority.

“We haven’t come to the time to indicate our preference,” he said. “This takes time as … environmental impact assessment is a very complex issue.”

Another member said the subcommittee had a number of doubts on the mitigation measures to protect the dolphins during construction and what could be done to draw them back after the work is done. The authority’s replies had been unconvincing, he said.

The authority has so far agreed to set up a 2,400 hectare marine park to compensate for the habitat loss, but will build the park only after the runway is completed in 2023.

It also promised to re-route its Skypier high-speed ferry services and lower the ferries’ speeds during construction, but rejected suggestions to relocate the pier from the east to the west side of the airport.

The authority’s other mitigating measures include adopting a non-dredging reclamation method to reduce underwater noise that would affect the dolphins, and to set up an eco-enhancement fund to support dolphin research.

The subcommittee member said the group was also concerned about the authority’s role as a proponent of the large-scale project that would involve various government departments.

“The authority can’t speak for the government, and this leads to the question: to what extent does it have the power to do what it has pledged to do,” he said.

Samuel Hung Ka-yiu, a dolphin expert who has been opposing the runway project, said he was pessimistic that the subcommittee would reject the controversial project.

“The government’s hands are everywhere and officials will make sure that the project is passed,” he said.


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## hkskyline

*Runway report ‘left out polluting vessels’*
14 August 2014
South China Morning Post

The Airport Authority has come under fire for failing to assess the potential water pollution caused by construction barges working on the proposed third runway.

The concerns were raised by members of a subcommittee of the Advisory Council on the Environment, which met for the second time yesterday to scrutinise the authority’s environmental impact assessment report.

Subcommittee member Dr Billy Hau Chi-hang said he found no relevant assessment on pollution by vessels in the report.

“I visited the marine work areas of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and saw plumes of [suspended solids] surrounding the sand barges,” he said. “I suspect there will be a lot of vessels, which might not just disturb the seabed but also become a source of [pollution] leakages.”

Fellow member Gary Ades shared Hau’s concern. He asked what lessons the authority had learnt from the bridge project.

Eric Ching Ming-kam, a consultant for the authority, admitted it did not assess the likely impact on water quality because the vessels would be subject to a speed limit of 10 knots per hour.

He said there were guidelines for contractors to control leakages from their vessels and a response plan for any spills.

Another member, Jonathan Wong Woon-chung, suggested the authority return with an estimate of the number of vessels used and their likely impact.

The authority was also grilled over its planned deployment of silt curtains for the reclamation of 650 hectares of sea.

Ching said it had never assessed the effectiveness of having the whole work area sealed by silt curtains – a barrier to confine pollutants within certain areas. He insisted the most effective way of protecting the area was to deploy the curtains only at a number of “strategic and active” areas.

Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by WWF Hong Kong found that 47 per cent of 1,000 respondents supported the runway project despite the environmental impact – much less than the 73 per cent found in a 2011 poll conducted by the authority.

“It is obvious people are less supportive of the project after learning more about the environmental impacts,” said Samantha Lee Mei-wah, a marine conservation officer with the group.

About 71 per cent of respondents in the latest poll did not believe or had doubts about the authority’s claims that dolphins would return to the affected waters after the runway was built.

About 58 per cent did not believe the government would strike a good balance between development and conservation.


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## hkskyline

*Government accused of marine park pledge to take pressure off bid for third runway* 
2 September 2014
South China Morning Post

In the midst of environmental hearings on a proposed third runway, conservation authorities have made a surprise pledge to designate two new marine parks off Lantau Island by 2017.

The announcement was made as government advisers continued deliberation on the Airport Authority's environmental report on the proposed additional runway at Chek Lap Kok.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the announcement, which ends a 12-year impasse, was not related to the runway proposal.

It said it was a response to public concern and part of its own Chinese white dolphin conservation programme.

The proposed parks will cover 660 hectares off southwest Lantau and 1,270 hectares around the Soko Islands archipelago, in a bid to enhance protection for the endangered dolphin and finless porpoise.

But Dolphin Conservation Society chairman Dr Samuel Hung Ka-yiu suspected the move was made by the government to take pressure off the authority.

"The authority's [report] and the long-delayed designation of the two marine parks cannot be grouped together.

"We never said this could be a compensation measure for the third runway and it cannot be one. Marine parks cannot mitigate the [650 hectares of] habitat loss," he said.

He urged subcommittee members of the Advisory Council on the Environment, who will meet today, not to accept the new plans as justification for the airport expansion.

An authority spokesman said the government's latest park plan was not part of its report but it would "complement" its own conservation measures to protect the dolphin population.

"We will launch another round of public engagement in 2015 and take other necessary steps and seek to complete the statutory procedure for the designation by early 2017," a department spokesman said.

Proposals to designate the two marine parks span back to 2002 but never came to fruition due to opposition from the fisheries sector and Lantau residents.

Dr Michael Lau Wai-neng, a senior programme head at WWF Hong Kong, said the move was welcome, but was not enough. "There is a consensus among scientists that [dolphin] habitat can only be protected by linking up the parks along the Tai O fringe, to the existing Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park," he said.

The authority's proposal for a 2,400 hectare marine park connecting Sha Chau and another proposed park northeast of Lantau has been dismissed as ineffectual as it would be designated only after the runway's completion in 2023.

Lawmaker Steven Ho Chun-yin, of the agriculture and fisheries sector, said the industry would likely oppose the park plan if it hurt fishermen's livelihoods.

He said that on issue would be whether fishing permits for the marine parks would be allowed to be transferable.

"The government will have to consult the industry further," Ho said.

The Country and Marine Parks Board will be consulted on the draft maps at a "suitable time" before it is published for public inspection, the department said.


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## hkskyline

*Wan Chai to land runway protest*
The Standard
Friday, September 12, 2014

Green groups and residents of Park Island plan to protest outside the Revenue Tower on Monday in a last-minute attempt to derail the approval of the third airport runway.

The Advisory Council on the Environment will be at the Wan Chai landmark to discuss an environmental impact assessment report into the planned runway by the Airport Authority.

Green Sense representatives, five Park Island residents and three legislators said noise pollution problems for thousands of people living in and around Ma Wan and the Tuen Mun Gold Coast will not be solved by suggestions contained in the report.

Legislator Gary Fan Kwok-wai said: "The report is unrealistically assuming that the minimum height limit set by China, an `invisible wall', blocking Hong Kong's northbound flight, will be removed once the third runway is built." 

Many more aircraft will need to stay in midair and take the indirect route through Ma Wan or even Tseung Kwan O until they reach the height over the "invisible wall," Fan claimed.

The authority confirmed there are airspace restrictions.

However only 23 percent of aircraft fly through the airspace of the Pearl River Delta.


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## hkskyline

*Greens mull court action on runway*
The Standard
Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Seeking a judicial review is now looking more likely in connection with the airport's proposed third runway, a green group said.

Green Sense spokesman Roy Tam Hoi-pong said the last hope of those who oppose the plan rests with the Environmental Protection Department, after the Advisory Council on the Environment gave its approval on Monday.

"Should the EPD's director [Anissa Wong Sean-yee] ignore our demands and issue an environmental permit to the Airport Authority, we will have no choice but to apply for a judicial review," Tam said.

About 20 protesters from Green Sense and residents of Park Island had appealed to the council not to approve the plan, but it was in vain.

Environmentalists fear the building of the runway will severely affect the habitat of the white dolphin an issue they say was played down in the authority's environmental impact assessment report.

The residents also claimed the report failed to address the noise pollution that would affect them.

The council granted conditional approval for the runway, but attached 20 conditions. The EPD must decide within 30 days whether to issue a work permit to the authority.

Council chairman Paul Lam Kwan-sing said the conditions and advice were adequate for the construction.

Conditions include a 2,400-hectare marine park to be developed after expansion at the airport and speed controls on airport ferries.


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## hkskyline

*Airport Authority Welcomes Granting of Environmental Permit for Three-Runway System*
Press Release _Excerpt_
7 November 2014

Airport Authority Hong Kong (the AA) today said it welcomes the decision of the Director of Environmental Protection to approve the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report and issue an Environmental Permit (EP) for the proposed expansion of Hong Kong International Airport into a three-runway system (3RS).

Fred Lam, Chief Executive Officer of the AA, said, “We are delighted to obtain the EP. It marks a major step in Hong Kong’s pursuit of strengthening its long-term competitiveness and leading aviation hub status.

"The AA is committed to carrying out all the mitigation measures proposed in the 3RS EIA report, and fully complying with all the conditions listed by the Environmental Protection Department in a highly prudent, transparent and professional manner,” added Mr Lam. “Our aim is to achieve a balance between economic development and conservation.

"Now that the EP has been granted, the AA will kick-start the marine park proposal by developing a management plan for a 2,400-hectare marine park, as committed to in the EIA report. This represents the largest of its kind in Hong Kong. We will also formulate and finance a detailed Marine Ecology Conservation Plan with support from relevant experts and stakeholder groups. This plan will outline our approach for the conservation of marine life, particularly the Chinese White Dolphins (CWDs) within Hong Kong and Pearl River Estuary waters.

"To further enhance early protection for CWDs, the AA will also devise a Marine Traffic Routes and Management Plan for high-speed ferries operating out of the SkyPier, to minimise the chance of disturbance in western waters. Some of these precautionary measures will be implemented even before we begin construction on the 3RS,” Mr Lam explained.


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## hkskyline

*Tuen Mun logistics hub to take fast way to airport*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Ten hectares of land in the west of Tuen Mun is set to be developed into a logistics hub handily placed for the airport.

Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-leung confirmed: "We have earmarked new land in the western New Territories for developing multistory, purpose-built logistics facilities with excellent connectivity to the airport."

It should take 15 minutes to reach the airport by road via the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link, which is expected to be completed in 2018, and the hub will be developed in phases.

A traffic impact assessment for the proposed development is now being conducted, a spokeswoman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said.

"Subject to the findings, we will then proceed with district consultation and seek approval from the Town Planning Board," she said.

The land for the hub in Tuen Mun is expected to be released in phases starting from the middle of next year.

Addressing an international logistics and maritime forum, Cheung said the SAR is constantly enhancing its capabilities to meet the changing needs of regional trade and supply chains.

The government remains committed to that process and seeks to identify suitable sites to help with logistics development amid a scarcity of land, he said.


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## hkskyline

11/8


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## hkskyline

_Notice the mid-field construction in this older photo : _



Oasis-Bangkok said:


> Летището Chek Lap Kok в Хонг Конг e петото най-голямо международно пътническо летище в света. Построено в средата на Южно Китайско море, в сърцето на тайфунна зона... by MajaTuneva, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Two Hongkongers seek judicial review to block permit for third runway at Chek Lap Kok*
7 February 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_ 









_Source : http://www.threerunwaysystem.com _

Two Hong Kong citizens who claim the government unlawfully issued a permit for the addition of a third runway at Chek Lap Kok airport sought a judicial review from the High Court yesterday.

Ho Loy and Tam Kai-hei filed an application urging the court to quash the director of the Environmental Protection Department's decision to approve an environmental impact assessment report and issue a permit for the expansion project in November last year.

They also named the Airport Authority as an interested party in their application.

They state in their application: "The nature of these decisions is of undoubted public importance. They concern one of the largest and most important infrastructure development projects in Hong Kong.

"It will have long-lasting environmental impact on people, flora and fauna over a wide area of Hong Kong."

They complained the director of environmental protection had unlawfully exercised power in approving a report which did not meet the requirement in assessing the noise and air-quality impact of the expansion.

They also claimed the report failed to provide measures to protect Chinese white dolphins off the north of Lantau Island during the construction phase.

The pair also said that the director failed to explain how the decision was reached in granting the permit. They claimed this cast doubt on the reasoning involved.


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## hkskyline

*Consensus required in financing the third runway*
12 February 2015
China Daily _Excerpt_ 

There have been considerable consultations and discussions and much debate and discussions over the question of whether to build a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport.

Through many rounds of consultation, the third runway project has specifically addressed the demands and concerns of environmental groups. As far as established consultation procedures go, the third runway project has done everything that it should have; now it is time to explore the implementation of the project. Naturally, for some concern groups, the third runway project is an anathema regardless of whether or not it is carried out in line with established standards. To these concern groups, the whole concept of the project is wrong. Such groups are not expected to become supporters of the project. Such controversial views bring the additional litigation risks.	

Indeed, since 1997, all manner of controversies have arisen in Hong Kong and the third runway is certainly unlikely to be the last. In open societies such situations have become the norm. The consequences are soaring construction costs and project completion delays.

In the tendering decisions of this type of public projects, contractors often factor such risk factors into the quotation submitted for their bid, hence construction costs increase.

It is generally emphasized that this is not a bad thing, because an open society, by definition, requires compromise on issues. This is a price worth paying. Furthermore, in Hong Kong, respecting the right to voice contradictory views is a core value. Of course, it is the responsibility of government to pay the bill. While the government is still wealthy, the public is unaware of these costs, and people tend to be tolerant.

But the situation is different for the third runway. Though the government enjoys considerable influence in the Airport Authority (AA), as an AA shareholder, the AA is not the government. The construction of the third runway cannot be seen as a general public works project, it should rather be seen as a capital investment in a public organization. The third runway will bring economic benefits, but it also requires considerable capital investment. From the AA viewpoint, it is not possible to consider only the overall economic benefits the third runway brings to Hong Kong. The AA also must study the feasibility of the third runway from a corporate perspective.

That is, the construction of the third runway has to be judged on commercial principles. The evaluation and consideration of the project rests on its financial viability, though it need not necessarily produce maximum profits. To make the third runway project financially feasible, it is important to examine its costs and sources of funding. This is a prudent approach necessary in any capital budgeting plan.

The AA now distributes billions of dollars to the government in the form of dividends. In the last financial year, it received HK$ 4.4 billion dollars in AA dividends. This can be regarded as the government's financial return on its investment in the airport. If the government were to waive its right to dividends throughout the construction of the third runway, the AA would have billions of dollars cash inflows to deal with the capital requirements of the runway project.

In such a scenario it would also be worth noting that any dividend waived by the government, would equate to reinvestment in the AA. However, the current perception is that it is an internal capital decision and not public money, hence there is greater flexibility. Moreover, if this waived dividend were to be used as a source of financing, the AA could immediately raise billions of dollars of medium-term capital, which would be useful to the capital requirements of the third runway project. Further, for a major engineering project it is not possible for immediate full operation. The project will be launched in phases, so funding requirements will vary at different stages of development.


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong Aims to Get Third Runway Ready by 2023 as Demand Soars*
Bloomberg _Excerpt_
February 25, 2015

Hong Kong, the world’s largest international air cargo airport, aims to start construction next year on a third runway that will open by 2023 as regional rivals step up efforts to capture growing passenger traffic and cargo demand in Asia.

The new facility will help Hong Kong International Airport boost capacity to 100 million passengers and 9 million tons of cargo a year by 2030, Financial Secretary John Tsang said in his budget speech today. The airport said it handled 63.4 million passengers and 4.38 million tons of cargo last year, both records.

“It is imperative for us to take forward the development of a three-runway system in order to meet our long-term air traffic demand and to maintain our status as an international and regional aviation center in the face of fierce competition from other airports in the region,” Tsang said in a prepared statement.


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## Zenith

When I lift in Mexico there was only Kai tak!


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## Guest

Monumental esa terminal aerea, sin precedentes...


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## Qalandari

Looks nice


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong Airport Proposes Levy After Third Runway Approved*
Bloomberg _Excerpt_
March 17, 2015

The Hong Kong government approved a third runway at the city’s international airport, pledging to fund the HK$141.5 billion ($18.2 billion) expansion through a mix of internal funds, external borrowings and higher user fees.

Airport Authority Hong Kong is proposing to levy a HK$180 additional fee on departing, non-transit passengers until the end of the construction, Chief Executive Officer Fred Lam said at a press briefing in Hong Kong today. It will also retain operational surpluses for a decade and halt annual dividend payments to the government, he said.

“The three-runway system is more than a transport infrastructure project, it is essential to keep our economy going,” Anthony Cheung, Hong Kong’s secretary for transport and housing, said at the same briefing.

Slated to open by 2023, the third runway would help Hong Kong compete with regional rivals seeking to benefit from growing passenger traffic and cargo demand in Asia, particularly China. Singapore recently announced plans to spend S$3 billion ($2.2 billion) to develop a fifth passenger terminal at Changi International Airport over the next decade.

The new facility would help Hong Kong International Airport, the world’s largest handler of air cargo, boost capacity to 100 million passengers and 9 million tons of cargo a year by 2030, Financial Secretary John Tsang said in his budget speech last month. The airport said it handled 63.4 million passengers and 4.38 million tons of cargo last year, both records.

The third runway would be situated to the north of the airport and would be used only for landing, because of safety reasons. It would raise the airport’s capacity to 102 flights per hour, Cheung said, from 68 now.


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## kunming tiger

I assume construction will start this year?


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## rushinblue

Awesome Airport


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## hkskyline

kunming tiger said:


> I assume construction will start this year?


Not sure yet since the project was challenged in court by some citizens so we need to wait for the legal proceedings to finish before construction begins.


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## hkskyline

*The airport cost HK$156 billion, putting it among the world’s most expensive* 
22 March 2015
South China Morning Post

The airport cost HK$156 billion, putting it among the world’s most expensive airport construction projects.

October 1989: Hong Kong Governor Sir David Wilson announces plan to construct a new airport at Chek Lap Kok.

September 1991: The British and Chinese governments sign a memorandum of understanding in support of the airport project, setting expenditure at HK$98 billion.

June 1993: Hong Kong government announces need for a HK$135.6 million wind-shear warning system at Chek Lap Kok to alert pilots of wind or turbulence, after the shape of hills on Lantau Island are identified as causing risk of wind shear.

December 1993: Land reclamation works on the airport site reaches Lam Chau island.

1993 to 1994: Relations between British-ruled Hong Kong and Beijing deteriorate as the Chinese side refuses to take on post-handover debt, questioning why the colonial government did not use its surplus to fund the project.

January 1994: Beijing’s top official on Hong Kong affairs criticises Hong Kong government for seeking extra funds for airport projects without waiting for a Sino-British financial agreement. Beijing insists that financing follow the Memorandum of Understanding, which limits debt levels to HK$5 billion. Beijing insists the government’s surplus of more than HK$100 billion be used to fund the project.

June 1995: Land reclamation and excavation to form the 1,255-hectare airport site is completed.

1996: Around 4,000 imported labourers work on the project as it nears completion, well below the estimated 17,000 originally thought needed. There were about four local workers for every foreign worker. A pay dispute sees Thai workers down tools at the Kwai Chung Route 3 viaduct project on September 26, 1995.

May 6, 1998: First 12 removal trucks leave Kai Tak Airport to prepare for the move to Chek Lap Kok. In what is said to be the largest peace-time operation, more than 1,200 vehicles, 14 barges, 30 aircraft and 40,000 people move equipment on July 5, 1998. Around 10,000 vehicles, 70 barges and 30 aircraft are prepared for the relocation.

July 2, 1998: President Jiang Zemin opens the HK$156 billion Hong Kong International Airport.

July 6, 1998: Airport opens to public as Cathay Pacific flight CX889 from New York becomes the first commercial flight to land and CX907 to Manila becomes the first flight to depart.

July 1998: New airport is plagued by a series of teething problems as baggage goes astray, toilets fail to flush, Airport Express trains break down and cargo operations are forced to move back to Kai Tak.

December 27, 1998: Hong Kong International Airport sets record for number of passengers passing through it in one day as more than 100,000 people use the hub. More than 27 million passengers used the airport in 1998.

August 22, 1999: A China Airlines flight from Bangkok crashes on landing at Chek Lap Kok during a typhoon, killing two people. Passengers are trapped upside down in their seats for hours after the plane flips.

November 2003: Government planners introduce the Hong Kong 2030 Study to the legislature, calling for the first time for a third runway to be built at the airport on the grounds that it would reach capacity by 2020.

June 2007: Terminal 2 officially opens.


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## hkskyline

*Public opinion turns against third runway, poll shows*
23 March 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

The planned HK$141.5 billion third runway at Chek Lap Kok airport is facing strong opposition, according to a survey commissioned this month by green groups that arrived at very different findings from a government study held four years ago.

Two-thirds of Hongkongers polled now want the Airport Authority to focus on improving the operations of its two runways before considering building a third, the latest survey shows.

Back in 2011, the authority found in its study that 73 per cent of residents supported having a third runway. A green campaigner said that survey took into account views collected from the logistics industry, which would favour a new airstrip.

Plans for the new runway are mired in criticism, not least because of its multibillion-dollar budget. But the authority's chief executive, Fred Lam Tin-fuk, defended the high cost, saying the project was more than just an additional runway.

"It's almost like building an airport. There will be a new concourse, railway system and luggage system," Lam said on television yesterday.

The Executive Council approved the project last week in an attempt to boost the city's competitiveness.

However, public opinion is in favour of the authority enhancing the existing twin-runway system before contemplating a third airstrip, based on the latest Baptist University poll, which surveyed 617 people from March 10 to 18. Researchers found 68 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with this stance, with 31 per cent disagreeing or strongly disagreeing with it.

They also found 57 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that the government should wait for the outcome of a judicial review challenging the project's environmental impact assessment before progressing further. Asked if the government should become the authority's guarantor and allow the project to be financed in a way that bypassed Legislative Council oversight, 68 per cent disagreed or strongly disagreed.


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
*High-speed rail to mainland China won’t curb demand for Hong Kong airport third runway, officials say*
Airport Authority rejects concerns of town planners that Guangzhou link will be more convenient and divert travellers from Chek Lap Kok
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 April, 2015

Hong Kong Airport Authority officials have dismissed Town Planning Board members’ concerns that a high-speed rail link from the city to mainland China would divert passengers’ demand for a third runway at Chek Lap Kok airport.

Officials briefed board members this morning on the HK$140 billion three-runway system after the Executive Council gave the green light for construction last month. They insisted that an extra runway was crucial in maintaining Hong Kong’s competitiveness.

Wilson Fung Wing-yip, the authority’s executive director of corporate development, rejected criticisms that a lot of resources were used to serve mainland China-bound flights, saying they accounted for only 23 per cent to 24 per cent of total passenger flight movements.

However, board vice-chairman Stanley Wong Yuen-fai said the figures were still a significant proportion of flights, questioning whether the completion of the high-speed rail link would divert passengers to rail.

“When the high-speed rail is completed, my estimation, and according to documents presented to us previously, is that many Hongkongers and mainlanders would use rail,” he said.

Another board member, Dr Lawrence Poon Wing-cheung, had a similar query. “Some might use high-speed rail to come to Hong Kong because it is more convenient,” he said.

But Fung said high-speed rail would have little impact on flight demand. He explained that only rail destinations within a six-hour journey would be able to compete with air travel, but that accounted for only around 5 per cent of mainland China-bound flights.

“We have also studied [the situation] in France and Japan ... some mainlanders might want to make use of Hong Kong airport which can connect them to the world,” Fung said. “We don’t think high-speed rail would cause a significant impact to us.”

The high-speed rail link from Hong Kong to Guangzhou is scheduled for completion in 2017 – two years late and HK$6 billion over its initial HK$65 billion budget.


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## hkskyline

The Zhuhai & Macau bridge construction has reached the southern tip of the airport island : 

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/620/6201957.html


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## kunming tiger

Should be an impressive view of the airport from the bridge.


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## PeterPan88

Visited Hongkong 2 years ago and I must say their airport is one of the largest, busiest and yet clean airport I've seen.


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## hkskyline

*Opponents of third runway are losing the argument and public support*
Albert Cheng says to galvanise the Hong Kong people, activists must focus on the real reason the airport plan won't work - airspace issues
17 April 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_ 

Since the Executive Council's decision last month to bypass the legislature to fund a third runway at Chek Lap Kok, concern groups have tried various tactics to derail the project. Their actions have so far failed to gain traction.

Several grass-roots bodies have launched signature campaigns. Others have demonstrated at Hong Kong International Airport. Yet, there is no sign of the protests snowballing into a mass movement similar to the one in January 2010, against the local section of the express rail link to Guangzhou, when legislators who voted in favour of the scheme had to be escorted by police to safety amid a sea of angry protesters.

The absence of popular support stems from the groups' failure to articulate why the runway is unacceptable. The arguments put forward by their leaders simply do not resonate with citizens.

In a recent newspaper article, activist Eddie Chu Hoi-dick said: "The overwhelming majority of Hong Kong citizens, while paying attention to the third runway controversy, have no intention at all to reflect on their way of life, which involves taking more and more frequent flights."

To follow through on his logic, the best solution to airport congestion is to fly less. This anti-development attitude may be popular within a small circle of "progressive" youths. Yet, it borders on the ridiculous and can hardly serve to galvanise support for their campaign.

Other activists insist it is unfair for the public to foot the bill. They argue that the airline companies should pay because they stand to benefit most. Taxes aside, airliners have to pay various fees and charges to park and use the airport facilities. It is unheard of for them to also be held financially responsible for the construction of terminals and runways.

If they were made to pay, would they then be given access to the new runway according to the amount of their respective contribution? Such ill-considered reasons against the third runway will only give more ammunition to those in support.

It is almost a foregone conclusion that Hong Kong needs a third runway in the long run and to build a new terminal immediately to provide more parking space. These facilities are indispensable for our future overall interests.

The crux of the issue is that the existing runways' capacity has yet to be maximised, due to the poor management of both the Airport Authority and the Civil Aviation Department.

It is far more than a matter of hardware. Issues like airspace congestion and lack of aviation-related specialists have yet to be resolved. Any attempt to build a third runway is doomed to be a waste of time, money and human resources, if such software problems persist.

A clear and credible articulation of the reasons for action is a prerequisite to mobilise people. The same applies to those who want the plan to go ahead. If the government and Airport Authority want a popular mandate, they need to redouble their efforts.

On Tuesday, Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-leung met the mainland's civil aviation chief in Beijing, during which the latter expressed support for the third runway. Cheung said the authorities in Macau, Hong Kong and the mainland would continue to work together to enact the airspace management agreement signed in 2007.

He did not furnish any details. He is effectively asking people to put blind faith in the authorities to come up with a consensus that will work for Hong Kong.

If the official parties were sincere about resolving the issue, they would have allowed Hong Kong greater access to the airspace in the Pearl River Delta, so we could handle more flights now. Presumably, the mainland authorities are procrastinating because they want to gain better leverage on our right to negotiate bilateral air services agreements, which is enshrined in the Basic Law.


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## hkskyline

*T2 to 'close for four years'*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Monday, May 11, 2015










Hong Kong International Airport's Terminal 2 which has been in operation for 13 years will be completely shut down for four years from 2019 as part of expansion work in preparation for the third runway.

The HK$2.8 billion Terminal 2 started operation in February 2002, serving 27 airlines.

An Airport Authority spokesman told Sing Tao Daily, sister paper of The Standard, that Terminal 2 is 90 percent full, with at least 80 shops and 20 restaurants. "It is nearly completely rented out."

But a source close to the authority said it will be "totally closed for expansion work for four years to carry out improvement work" if construction for the third runway starts as planned next year.

The expansion will include restructuring the main building of Terminal 2, and constructing two additional annex buildings.

According to the third runway system design announced earlier, Terminal 2 will be modified and expanded for providing a full-service processing terminal and construction of an associated road network.

The services will include handling arrivals, departures and transfers. And the two new annex buildings will be reserved for coach staging, car parking, loading and unloading bays, and a limousine lounge.


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## hkskyline

*Party flags up air traffic issues over third runway*
14 May 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_ 

The third runway project at Chek Lap Kok airport should not go ahead unless questions involving airspace and financing plans are clarified, the Civic Party told the government yesterday.

Pilot Jeremy Tam Man-ho, a party member, also said he had told aviation officials that Hong Kong must “not cut a single inch of airspace” to the mainland when authorities implement a plan forged in 2007 to coordinate regional airspace.	

He also warned it would be unconstitutional if air traffic controllers across the border were given the power to control flights in Hong Kong.

To achieve the handling capacity of 102 flights an hour when the three-runway system was completed in 2023, Shenzhen would have to cede some of its airspace for departing aircraft to turn north straight away rather than south.

“Why does Hong Kong need to control some of Shenzhen’s airspace?” he asked after a meeting with officials.

“It’s just as unreasonable for our police officers to enforce laws in Shenzhen.”

Tam urged the government to study how many flights the airport could handle in an hour if the airspace issue could not be resolved. He also wanted the government to pledge it would not underwrite the project.

Legislator Kwok Ka-ki, who also attended the meeting, said the government failed to address questions they raised and stressed the Airport Authority must not be allowed to carry out any “irreversible” decisions.

The government had proposed allowing the authority to carry out reclamation works on the foreshore and seabed to the north of the airport for construction of the third runway, with interested parties able to submit a written objection to the director of lands before July 8.


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## kunming tiger

Pilot Jeremy Tam Man-ho, a party member, also said he had told aviation officials that Hong Kong must “not cut a single inch of airspace” to the mainland when authorities implement a plan forged in 2007 to coordinate regional airspace.	

He also warned it would be unconstitutional if air traffic controllers across the border were given the power to control flights in Hong Kong.

Interesting point he raised, so exactly has jurisdiction of airspace around and over HK ? The Central government or HK ? The same issue arises with waters around HK. So if primary jurisdiction lies with the HK authority then in theory they could authorise the passage of foreign military aircraf and ships into the area overa nd above the objections of the central government?

This divisive them and us mentality don't give them an inch literally while expecting unconditional help when the boot is on the other foot. The confronational first policy won't pay any real dividends in the long run.

Matters of foreign policy including matters of defense come under the central government. Just how much say would the PLAAF have in the airspace around HK?


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## hkskyline

kunming tiger said:


> Pilot Jeremy Tam Man-ho, a party member, also said he had told aviation officials that Hong Kong must “not cut a single inch of airspace” to the mainland when authorities implement a plan forged in 2007 to coordinate regional airspace.
> 
> He also warned it would be unconstitutional if air traffic controllers across the border were given the power to control flights in Hong Kong.
> 
> Interesting point he raised, so exactly has jurisdiction of airspace around and over HK ? The Central government or HK ? The same issue arises with waters around HK. So if primary jurisdiction lies with the HK authority then in theory they could authorise the passage of foreign military aircraf and ships into the area overa nd above the objections of the central government?
> 
> This divisive them and us mentality don't give them an inch literally while expecting unconditional help when the boot is on the other foot. The confronational first policy won't pay any real dividends in the long run.
> 
> Matters of foreign policy including matters of defense come under the central government. Just how much say would the PLAAF have in the airspace around HK?


Civilian air traffic control is not a national defense or foreign policy matter. Hong Kong airspace is separately managed, and looking at how mainland Chinese cities' airspace are being mismanaged and tightly controlled by the military, it is no wonder why we should not give an inch of space to them.


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## hkskyline

*$180 passenger fee for third runway likely to be lowered*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 

Departing travelers from Hong Kong International Airport may now expect to pay less than the HK$180 first proposed to help meet the cost of a third runway.

"We are studying how to reduce the tax rate, and the result will be coming soon," outgoing Airport Authority chairman Vincent Lo Hong-sui said about the fee, which will be on top of the departure tax, at his farewell media party yesterday.

Lo takes over from Jack So Chak-kwong as chairman of the Trade Development Council on June 1.

The present cost for construction of the third runway is HK$141.5 billion, but taxpayers will not have to pitch in next year when construction begins.

The project will be funded by bank loans and bonds, the airport's operational surplus and dividends as well as the construction fee for airlines and passengers.


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## hkskyline

*Designs unveiled for Hong Kong's largest shopping complex, to be built beside Terminal 2 at Chek Lap Kok airport* 
19 May 2015 
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_










Outgoing Airport Authority board chairman Vincent Lo Hong-sui yesterday unveiled preliminary designs for the city's largest shopping complex, to be built next to Terminal 2.

Lo said contracts for the mall's first phase of development would be put up for tender later this year. Phase one consists of a hotel and retail centre with two million square feet of floor space over five hectares of land. The site, to be called the North Commercial District, is between Terminal 2 and AsiaWorld-Expo.

"The shopping mall will not simply be duty-free stores or outlets. It will feature local shops and elements such as dai pai dong, where tourists and local families can spend a whole day," said Lo, who will take up a new position as chairman of the Trade Development Council next month.

He pledged the 14-hectare shopping complex, expected to be complete in three years, would entertain both local families and tourists brought in via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

He said the project would be unaffected by the decision on whether to build a third runway at the airport.

He was asked if the mall would sell baby milk formula, to which he replied it would be left to businesses to decide.

Three designs entered the final round of selections for the mall plan, and all featured a local theme, incorporating elements such as local symbols like the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. One design featured a green rooftop while another incorporated tenement buildings.

The mall project was at the centre of a row in November 2013 when Lo tendered his resignation as chairman of the authority's infrastructure planning committee after its management insisted the depot for the driverless electric train that will service a third runway should be located under the shopping complex.

Lo argued the depot would reduce the project's value by billions of dollars, while the authority's former chairman Marvin Cheung Kin-tung said moving the depot would cost even more as it would delay the opening of the third runway by a year.


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## kunming tiger

hkskyline said:


> *Designs unveiled for Hong Kong's largest shopping complex, to be built beside Terminal 2 at Chek Lap Kok airport*
> 19 May 2015
> South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Outgoing Airport Authority board chairman Vincent Lo Hong-sui yesterday unveiled preliminary designs for the city's largest shopping complex, to be built next to Terminal 2.
> 
> Lo said contracts for the mall's first phase of development would be put up for tender later this year. Phase one consists of a hotel and retail centre with two million square feet of floor space over five hectares of land. The site, to be called the North Commercial District, is between Terminal 2 and AsiaWorld-Expo.
> 
> "The shopping mall will not simply be duty-free stores or outlets. It will feature local shops and elements such as dai pai dong, where tourists and local families can spend a whole day," said Lo, who will take up a new position as chairman of the Trade Development Council next month.
> 
> He pledged the 14-hectare shopping complex, expected to be complete in three years, would entertain both local families and tourists brought in via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
> 
> He said the project would be unaffected by the decision on whether to build a third runway at the airport.
> 
> He was asked if the mall would sell baby milk formula, to which he replied it would be left to businesses to decide.
> 
> Three designs entered the final round of selections for the mall plan, and all featured a local theme, incorporating elements such as local symbols like the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. One design featured a green rooftop while another incorporated tenement buildings.
> 
> The mall project was at the centre of a row in November 2013 when Lo tendered his resignation as chairman of the authority's infrastructure planning committee after its management insisted the depot for the driverless electric train that will service a third runway should be located under the shopping complex.
> 
> Lo argued the depot would reduce the project's value by billions of dollars, while the authority's former chairman Marvin Cheung Kin-tung said moving the depot would cost even more as it would delay the opening of the third runway by a year.


 With the developments at other airports a project of this kind was inevitable.


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## hkskyline

*Runway judicial review accepted*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Friday, May 22, 2015










The High Court has accepted an application for a judicial review on the government's plan to build a third runway at the Chek Lap Kok airport.

The application was jointly submitted by a member of the Land Justice League and a Tung Chung resident.

They are seeking to overturn a decision by the Environmental Protection Department in November to approve an environmental impact assessment report and issue a permit for the expansion project.

Land Justice League member Tam Kai-hei and Ho Loy earlier filed an application urging the court to quash the director of the Environmental Protection Department's decision to approve an impact assessment report and issue a permit for the project.

They also named the Airport Authority as an interested party.

Tam welcomed the High Court decision.

"We hope the Airport Authority will stop going ahead with the third runway project until a ruling is handed down," Tam said.


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## hkskyline

*New airport chief comes out fighting*
30 May 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

Third runway vital for Hong Kong, says Jack So, as he vows to get the public on his side

Incoming Airport Authority chairman Jack So Chak-kwong has vowed to win public support for the controversial HK$141.5 billion third runway, while warning that Hong Kong will lose its status as an air transport hub if it is not built. 

So, 70, will leave the Trade Development Council at the end of the month after almost eight years as chairman.

He admitted yesterday there were challenges surrounding the runway project, but these were not reasons to abandon it.

“I don’t understand why people are objecting to the building of the third runway. They talk about the environmental impact and they talk about the flight paths. They talk about the [cost of] HK$140 billion, how do you find the money and is it too much,” he said in interview with the South China Morning Post.

“All these are challenges that we have to overcome. But it does not mean these are reasons why we have to abandon the project.”

The Executive Council approved the runway in March, with construction possibly starting as early as next year despite unresolved issues about regional airspace.

So recalled facing a similar challenge when he became chairman and chief executive of the MTR Corporation in 1995.

“At that time I remember my first job was to fight for the airport railway. There were lots of objections to the airport railway, lots of objections to the Chek Lap Kok airport. Can you imagine if we were still at Kai Tak today?”

He said those opposed to the third runway should give valid reasons, adding that “even if it is reduced to HK$1 billion, they will still say it is too expensive”.

Asked what would happen if the runway was not built, he said: “Flights will go elsewhere, tourists and business investors will go to other cities. And Hong Kong will not just lose its lustre as an air transport hub but also the potential, the impetus, the locomotion to move forward its economy.”

The runway is expected to increase capacity from 68 aircraft movements an hour to 102.


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## hkskyline

*IATA chief says no need for surcharge to build third runway in Hong Kong*
11 June 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

Hong Kong's airport authority does not need to charge users for building the third runway and should not do so for political reasons, said the International Air Transport Association's director general Tony Tyler, as a new financing plan for the project is due to be unveiled.

Tyler, former chief executive of Cathay Pacific Airways and a long-time resident of Hong Kong, commended Hong Kong government's efforts on the third runway project in his annual speech at IATA's annual general meeting in Miami this week but warned the proposed HK$180 levy per passenger could cost Hong Kong the growth the runway was built for.

“The politics in Hong Kong is a very powerful force these days. I guess it would be seen as controversial to take the very sort of liberal model I'm proposing but it is the best the model,” Tyler told the South China Morning Post in an interview.

IATA in March said its research showed Hong Kong airport - with its pre-tax profit of HK$7.8 billion in 2014 - should have no problem funding the HK$150 billion Third Runway project itself by borrowing, instead of slapping extra charges on passengers before the runway would get built, which IATA said is against the “user pay principle”.

“User pay means you pay when you use it. Today's airlines pay for tomorrow's project…present users pay for something they are not using - that is not the user pay principle,” Tyler said.

The Hong Kong Airport Authority in May said it may reveal a new financing plan in a month with “significant cuts” to the proposed levy but said it would not scrap it.

“The government, I think, is trying to balance a lot of different opinions. When I have talked to people in Hong Kong - and I'm not quoting government people here - but generally people are saying, it's the sort of atmosphere where we have to be seeing as 'spreading the pain evenly'," he said. “I do think it would be best if they could take the position of what the economic says and keep the place competitive,” he said.

“Hong Kong airport is one of the most profitable in the world.…They can borrow money, and they can borrow money cheaply, especially in today's environment, and later whoever is using the new runway can pay for it. And there would be so much growth in traffic that it won't be necessary to put up charges even then,” he added.


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## hkskyline

*Writ filed for review over third runway*
The Standard
Tuesday, June 16, 2015

A Tung Chung advocate yesterday applied for judicial review over the construction of the third airport runway.

Tung Chung Future's community development officer, Wong Chun-yeung, 21, filed the writ to the High Court.

Wong said the Executive Council approval of the Airport Authority's three- runway system in March is unconstitutional.

Departing passengers will be charged HK$180 from next year and airlines 15 percent more to help fund the third runway, whose budget has ballooned to HK$141.5 billion.

The third runway may be completed by 2023 if construction begins next year.

Green Sense founder Roy Tam Hoi- pong, who accompanied Wong in filing the writ, said afterwards that there were three grounds behind the judicial review.

The first was about the distinction between Hong Kong and mainland airspace, as the third runway would share airspace with Shenzhen and violate Article 130 of Basic Law, which states Hong Kong "shall be responsible on its own for matters of routine business and technical management of civil aviation."

The second and third rationales concern contraventions of Article 64 of the Basic Law, which states that taxation and public expenditure should be approved by the Legislative Council.


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## hkskyline

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/622/6228647.html










Notice the new terminal in the background almost completed.


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## Aenelia

Any renderings of the shopping complex?


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## hkskyline

*Midfield Development*
7/5









_Graphic from HKIA_


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## krishnaengworks

Nice Information Thanks for sharing This Post


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## hkskyline

* DHL; Airport Expansion Plan is Timely for Hong Kong to Remain Competitive*
_Excerpt_

2015 AUG 4 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at China Weekly News -- DHL, the world's leading logistics company, supports Airport Authority of Hong Kong to commence the third runway project, no later than next year, so as to let Hong Kong stay ahead in Greater China's vibrant air cargo market, fuelled particularly by the surging demand of e-commerce and high-value perishables.

The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) reported yet another record year for cargo throughput in 2014/2015 by handling 4.4 million tonnes of cargo[1] which saw the airport as the world's busiest air cargo hub for five consecutive years since 2010. The cargo throughput in HKIA increased by almost 6 per cent annually during the period.

The latest DHL Global Connectedness Index ("GCI"), which measures a region's international flow relative to the size of its domestic economy, also revealed that Hong Kong is ranked 11th globally[2] and continues to lead the world in depth of global connectedness, mainly driven by strong flows from mainland China. Cross-border flows between Hong Kong and mainland China remain robust and are ranked among the world's top 3 largest flows in terms of merchandise trade and tourist flows. Hong Kong retains its strong standing as the export gateway for mainland China.

"Our Central Asia Hub in Hong Kong boasts of the region's largest throughput. This large volume can be attributed to the surging exports from mainland China and the Pearl River Delta, as well as growing demand and rising consumption across Asia Pacific. In response to rising customer demand, we are continuously expanding our Asia air network to boost our connectivity and shorten transit times -- we have launched a new intra-Asia flight that connects Bangkok, Hanoi and Hong Kong five times per week and increased the frequency of a service connecting Penang, Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong from five to six days per week, thereby increasing capacity on the route by 20 percent," said Jerry Hsu, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

"We are positive about the future of HKIA based on the Airport Authority's forecast of 8.9 million tonnes of cargo going through the airport by 2030[3]. The investment of more than HK$140 billion[4] (EUR16 billion) in the expansion of HKIA is a substantial commitment for the future of the logistics industry in Hong Kong. As one of the four-pillar industries in the city, we think that it is a rational and necessary investment to help boost the economic growth in Hong Kong," said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong International Airport Midfield Concourse Making Good Progress*
Press Release



















(HONG KONG, 14 August 2015) – Jack So Chak-kwong, Chairman of Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), recently visited the Midfield Concourse of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) where he was briefed on the facility’s progress.

The Midfield Concourse is located to the west of Terminal 1 and between the two existing runways, which construction began in 2011. According to the current progress, it would commence operation at the end of this year. The development includes a five-storey Midfield Concourse with 20 parking stands, and an extended automated people mover system that connects to Terminal 1. Upon opening of the Midfield Concourse, HKIA will be able to serve an additional 10 million passengers every year and increase the ratio of passengers served by frontal stands.

Mr So said, “The Midfield Concourse can help meet HKIA’s increasing aviation demand in medium term. However, as the current two-runway system will meet its practical maximum capacity in one or two years, the airport urgently needs a Three-runway System to cater for its long-term need of passenger and cargo growth, as well as maintain Hong Kong’s status as an international and regional aviation hub.”


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## hkskyline

*Hidden agenda for runway bond*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Thursday, September 10, 2015

How the airport's third runway should be financed has been a cause for concern ever since the Executive Council gave the HK$141.5-billion project the green light early this year.

The main bone of contention was the construction fee to be levied on passengers.

Now, transport chief Anthony Cheung Bing-leung is saying the fee will be reduced from the HK$180 originally proposed, and charged in accordance to the different types of flights and seats.

That's a sensible approach. Even though the changes were somewhat expected, they should be welcome as they're being made in response to a public outcry that the HK$180 fee would be too expensive and unfair for short-haul and budget passengers.

The most eye-catching new scheme calls for retail bonds to be issued, which hadn't been part of the original plan.


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## Car L

*Midfield Concourse 中場客運廊*
























































__________________
Buildings that don't get posted often (HK) Part I or here | Part II or  here | Part III  | Part IV  | Part V
Artistic decorations inside and outside of the buildings


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## hkskyline

*Start building third runway*
5 October 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

The financial arrangement for a third runway at the airport has always been a matter of concern. Instead of an across-the-board construction fee of HK$180 for every passenger, the revised levies vary according to the duration of flights and cabin class. The adjustments are necessary steps to ease opposition to the project. The changes mean 70 per cent of travellers are to pay HK$90 or less. Only business and first class passengers flying long haul will pay HK$180.

Whether the project is ready to go ahead is still unclear. Although the financing model enables the Airport Authority to get around the legislature for funding approval, there are still uncertainties. If the experiences of building the cross-border high-speed railway and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge are any reference, delays and cost overruns remain crux issues. Possible legal challenges against the runway’s impact on the environment mean the project may be held up.

That makes cost control all the more important. Under the revised financing model, the construction fee has to be imposed for longer, until 2031 instead of 2023 as previously planned. The proportion of commercial borrowing will also be raised from HK$53 billion to HK$69 billion. The Airport Authority has to come up with vigorous measures to keep costs within budget. The last thing the public wants is another mega public works project running behind schedule and with ballooning costs.

For those who believe the third runway is unnecessary, the revised levies are still unacceptable. Others argue that the new facilities are to be used by future passengers and the charge should therefore be imposed after the project is completed. There are also those who think that passengers should not help finance what may turn into a white elephant.

But the truth is that our two runways will reach the practical capacity of 68 flights an hour in the next two years, leaving little room for increased traffic. The airport is expected to handle more than 100 million passengers a year by 2030, according to official estimates.


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## hkskyline

Oct 9, 2015
*Third runway could be another disaster in the making*
Hong Kong Economic Journal _Excerpt_

Under Leung Chun-ying’s dysfunctional regime, the large infrastructural projects in our city have gone wrong one after another, and the administration has yet to pick up the remnants of its blunders.

First, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, a project to which the Hong Kong and mainland authorities have attached so much importance, is now threatened by what could amount to an estimated HK$20 billion (US$2.58 billion) in cost overruns, and it is very likely that the overspending on this project is far from over.

Then the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which costs HK$7 billion and is already seriously behind schedule, has also been plagued by fundamental flaws lately, as an artificial island that anchors a sea tunnel crossing along the bridge has drifted out of position, threatening further delays in the project.

Unfortunately, the people of Hong Kong are likely to face even bigger woes in the future, as the Leung regime is set to build a third runaway at Hong Kong International Airport, despite strong public opposition and well-founded skepticism from the engineering sector.

The fact that our government is once again obstinately going it alone on a major infrastructural project regardless of public opinion suggests it is very likely the HK$141.5 billion third international runaway will turn out to be the biggest white elephant project this city has ever seen, constituting a waste of public resources of catastrophic proportions.

The only ones who will benefit from this project are the big companies that are given the contract to build it.

As far as the ordinary taxpayers are concerned, all they are left with will be an astronomical bill.

I have already written numerous articles on why we shouldn’t build a third runway.

I have said over and over again that Hong Kong might eventually need a third international runway, but definitely not now, because the operational capacity of the existing two runways is far from being fully utilized, thanks to our incompetent Civil Aviation Department, which can’t even hire enough air traffic controllers to do the job.

So why would we need a third one when the existing two aren’t fully used?

Besides, there are now five airports in the Pearl River Delta region, and the airspace is already overcrowded.

An extra runway will only exacerbate the traffic congestion over our heads.

Another grave concern of mine is that the Hong Kong government has repeatedly claimed it has reached an agreement with mainland authorities under which airliners heading for or leaving Hong Kong will be allowed to use airspace in the mainland once the third runway is completed, thereby increasing the total number of inbound flights to and outbound flights from Hong Kong.

However, so far, we haven’t heard any confirmation from the mainland authorities, casting doubt on whether any agreement between Hong Kong and the mainland on this fundamental issue has been reached at all.

The Civil Aviation Department says that to coordinate the rapidly increasing air traffic in the region, the airport authorities of Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland set up a task force in 2004 known as the PRD Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Tripartite Working Group (TWG).

In 2007, the TWG reportedly came up with a Pearl River Delta Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Plan to coordinate airspace planning and air traffic control in the region to meet the rising needs of the five existing airports in the Pearl River Delta area until 2020.

Yet, nobody knows whether the TWG is still in operation today, nor do we know whether it has ever discussed the potential challenges posed by the proposed third runway in Hong Kong and helped all the major stakeholders to reach any formal agreement on this matter.

I think the government still owes the public an answer as to whether it has concluded an official and formal agreement with mainland authorities under which they would open up their airspace to our flights if we were really going to build our third runway.


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## hkskyline

*Rallying cry for projects*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Thursday, October 29, 2015









_政府新聞處提供圖片_

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying again rallied support for government infrastructure projects as he inspected the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link.

The visit by Leung yesterday came after all road and rail access to and from Tung Chung and the airport was suspended on Friday night when a boat collided with the Lantau Link's Kap Shui Mun Bridge.

On Tuesday, Leung said the road link, which may act as an alternative to the Tsing Ma Bridge, has been delayed for a year because of a judicial review into the Hong Kong- Zhuhai-Macau bridge.

As a result, the link should be up and running in three years, instead of two. Its completion will shorten travel distance from Tuen Mun to the airport and Tung Chung by nearly 22 kilometers.

It will also reduce travel time by about 20 minutes, improving the transportation network.


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## hkskyline

10/1 
Midfield Development


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## nigelabery

Great project. We need an airport of this size in Sydney!


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## hkskyline

Midfield Development 


Boeing | 777-367/ER | Cathay Pacific Airways | B-KPC | Hong Kong | HKG | VHHH by Christian Junker | Photography, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
*HK$19.4 billion more? Hong Kong airport authority ups estimate for building third runway over 50pc*
Yesterday’s report to the city’s legislature says land reclamation would be complex due to disused contaminated mud pits
Friday 27 November, 2015

The cost of land formation and marine works in the airport's third runway project is estimated to soar over 52 per cent to HK$56.2 billion, according to a paper submitted yesterday to the Legislative Council.

The Airport Authority itemised a breakdown of its total estimated construction cost for the project in a paper submitted to Legco on Thursday.

The ‘money-of-the-day’ estimates were based on the government's price adjustment factors set out in March this year.

The authority said reclamation works would require meticulous care to form 650 hectares of land north of the existing airport island.

It said this was because about 40 per cent of the reclaimed area was underlain by disused contaminated mud pits within a layer of marine mud. It said the contaminated mud was highly disturbed and was softer than its surrounding mud.

A combination of precise techniques and procedures would be adopted to strengthen the soft marine mud to be left in place. However, at the same time, the eventual land would have to be strong enough to be stable, the authority said in the document.

It also revealed that the cost of expanding the airport's existing terminal two as part of the third runway project would increase to HK$16.5 billion, up from the previous estimate of HK$9.5 billion projected in 2010.


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## hkskyline

*Bid to delay third runway voted down*
The Standard _Excerpt_
Wednesday, December 02, 2015 

A motion, urging the government to delay construction of the third runway, was defeated by 13 pro-establishment legislators. 

Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki moved the motion yesterday in the Three-Runway System Advisory Committee, citing as reasons labor shortages and insufficient raw materials.

But after a two-hour debate at the Legislative Council, only five pan- democrats, including Kwok, supported the motion.

He expressed fears about cost overruns, citing the funding woes of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen-Guangzhou Express Rail Link, while technical problems, such as a so-called "sky wall," remain unresolved. 

"We don't have enough manpower and raw materials. We don't have any agreement [with the mainland] to resolve the sky wall. This is why we are in a hurry to sign contracts. We all know that once the airport signs the contracts, there's no way back," Kwok said.


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## susanrey

Yeah, I once had been there, the views of airport in Hong Kong are really great and much more beautiful than those in pictures.


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## alg-cool

Thank you very much


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## hkskyline

*Clarification on Estimated Construction Cost of Three-runway System*
Press Release _Excerpt_

(HONG KONG, 2 December 2015) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) would like to clarify media reports regarding the estimated construction cost of expanding Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-runway System (3RS), specifically the assertion in certain outlets that the project has seen a 60% cost increase compared with 2010 prices.

According to the “Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030” released by the AA in 2011, the estimated cost of the 3RS was HK$86.2 billion in dollars of the fourth quarter of 2010. While it takes more than 10 years for the planning, design and construction of the 3RS project, there are changes in the inflation rate as well as labour and material costs that naturally occur during the course. As a result, it is necessary for AA to work according to money-of-the-day (MOD) prices that take these adjustments into account. This follows the same practice of Government capital works. After the calculations, the estimated construction cost for the 3RS was HK$136.2 billion in MOD prices.

The latest cost for the 3RS as estimated by the AA is HK$84.5 billion in 2010 dollars and HK$141.5 billion in MOD prices. This estimate takes into account further developments in the 3RS’s design and the completion of Environmental Impact Assessment, and it takes references to the latest price adjustment factor released by the Government on March 2014. (Note: The Government updates the price adjustment factor every six months, which will take reference on the data of the adjustment trend of the public sector building and construction output price, latest changes on salary levels of construction sector and price of construction materials, as well as the trend of global and local economic performances)

When examining the change in the estimated construction cost of the 3RS, it is more appropriate to compare the latest estimated MOD prices of HK$141.5 billion with the estimated MOD prices of HK$136.2 billion as published in the “Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030” in 2011. 

Details : http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/press-releases/pr_1194.html


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## hkskyline

*New runway gets $5b revolving credit *
The Standard _Excerpt_
Tuesday, December 08, 2015

The Airport Authority yesterday signed a HK$5 billion revolving credit facility with 21 local and international banks to be used in construction of the third runway.

The banks include HSBC, Hang Seng, Standard Chartered, Bank of China, and the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group.

Most of the money will go toward design of the runway, geographical surveys and preparatory work, according to authority chairman Jack So Chak-kwong, who hopes the related construction work will be approved and started before the middle of next year. 

"The success of this revolving credit facility will also lay a solid foundation for financing the three-runway system. Hong Kong International Airport beats at the heart of the economy, and its expansion into a (three- runway system) will bring tremendous social and economic benefits," So said at the signing ceremony with bank representatives. 

Asked if costs will overrun the allocated budget as with several other infrastructure projects, So said work is yet to begin on the runway and therefore the question is premature.


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## hkskyline

Midfield Concourse
12/6


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## Antartic

Awesome!


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## hkskyline

*Judicial review threatened over Hong Kong third runway consultation*
15 December 2015
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

A green group is considering launching a judicial review after it accused the Town Planning Board of trying to block opposing views at a hearing on the plan to build a third airport runway.

Green Sense president Roy Tam Hoi-pong accused the board of sending a vague invitation by email to potential participants of yesterday's consultation session. 

The email did not contain a specific day, which Tam argued breached the town planning law.

Section 6B of the Town Planning Ordinance states that the board, in addressing parties engaged in the drafting of plans, "shall ... give reasonable notice of particulars of the meeting [including the date, time and place ]".

Tam said about 10,000 potential participants, who submitted proposals on the runway, were sent a first email on October 20, saying that the meeting, which began yesterday, would be held some time in mid-December.

Only those who indicated their interest, the end of the email said, would be allowed to attend.

Those who did not reply to the first email received a second last week, telling them the venue, date and time of the meeting.

Tam accused the board of deliberately leaving details ambiguous. The second email stopped short of stating that those who did not reply to the first email could not attend the meeting.

He passed a letter drafted by a lawyer to the board's representatives yesterday.

A spokesman for the Planning Department, which oversees the board, said it had handled other meetings in the same manner before, and that those who had yet to confirm their attendance or interest to speak at the meeting could contact the board's secretariat.


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## hkskyline

Dec 23, 2015 
Hong Kong Economic Journal _Excerpt_
*Airport runway project now seen with 8% internal rate of return*

The planned third runway at Hong Kong’s airport is expected to yield an 8-percent internal rate of return (IRR), Airport Authority chief said, stressing that the project would be feasible.

Fred Lam Tin-fuk gave the new estimate as he unveiled a special study that was conducted with the assistance of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp.

The figure is far above the 3 percent IRR that had initially been projected in 2011, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported.

The revised estimate has taken into account the proposed airport construction levy and improved financial performance of the airport operator over the last few years.

Lam was also quoted as saying that the construction cost will be HK$141.5 billion in total.


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## hkskyline

12/18 Midfield Satellite Terminal


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## Sorvete na Testa

Are airports in Canton and Shenzen competition to HKG? Or they complement each other?


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## hkskyline

Sorvete na Testa said:


> Are airports in Canton and Shenzen competition to HKG? Or they complement each other?


Shenzhen is mostly a domestic airport, with very few international connections. Guangzhou serves its own large population. I suppose folks in Shenzhen can choose either HK or Guangzhou to fly internationally, but it is a competitive relationship, and not complementary.

Guangzhou and HK have their own home-based airlines that compete against each other.


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## hkskyline

kunming tiger said:


> land reclaimation for which project?


The first 2 seem to be for the Hong Kong Link Road section of the new bridge to Macau/Zhuhai, which requires reclamation of the airport island.










The rest are for the new underground APM depot.


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## hkskyline

The Standard _Excerpt_
*Airspace worries as Shenzhen expands*
July 29, 2016

The expansion of Shenzhen airport, due to be completed in 2018, will reduce the airspace available for Hong Kong's proposed third runway which does not come on line until three years later, according to green groups.

Airport Development Concern Network spokesman Michael Mo Kwan-tai said the expansion of Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport will severely restrict airspace and called on the government to explain how this will affect the third runway plan.

The groups also demanded that the government disclose the air traffic plan it made with the authorities from Shenzhen and Macau in 2007.

"The third runway plan will influence the ocean ecosystem, so surely the public deserves the right to know," said Mak Chi-kit of Green Sense.

The two groups also called for the suspension of reclamation work and the charging of the airport construction fee before the court ruling on a judicial review is handed down. The reclamation work and airport construction charge start on Monday.

The groups say they will organize a protest at the airport's arrival hall on Sunday and expect at least 300 participants. "Commencement of the reclamation work and charging of fee on August 1 is unfair to people in Hong Kong," Mo said.

Mak added: "The reclamation work is irreversible. If the judicial review of the third runway succeeds, how can the Airport Authority refund the fee?"

Mo said the release of a brief environmental impact assessment report indicates construction of Shenzhen's third runway will start soon. He said the expanded Shenzhen airport will adopt simultaneous departure/landing leading to more frequent use of its northwest runway, and there will be hardly any airspace left for an emergency go-around path for Hong Kong's third runway.


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## hkskyline

The Standard _Excerpt_
*Time runs out for runway protesters*
August 1, 2016










Green groups are demanding an immediate halt to work on the planned third runway.

Groups including Green Sense, Airport Development Concern Network and Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society and Ma Wan residents protested at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday with construction work and the charging of fees for the proposed third runway starting today.

Holding banners saying "anti-third runway" and "shame on the Airport Authority," protesters placed a paper bloodied white dolphin at the arrival hall.

The groups said they have exhausted all channels to raise awareness of the possible repercussions of the runway, such as pollution, destruction of marine habitat and confusion over air traffic control but that the government ignored the pleas, even with the result a judicial review awaited, and pressed ahead.

The Airport Authority has failed to say what it is going to do with airport construction fees it is charging passengers if the judicial review goes against it, the groups said. The court has yet to hand down a ruling on the judicial review it heard last month challenging the permit for building the third runway granted by the Environmental Protection Department.

Network spokesman Michael Mo Kwan-tai, who estimated 200 joined the demonstration yesterday, said he will use his body to protest against the construction launch today.

"The Airport Authority has persisted with starting the construction without waiting for the court verdict," Mo said. "We are also sorry for the Chinese white dolphins that will die because of the construction."


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt	_
*Hong Kong airport secures 50-year land lease to develop retail, dining and entertainment hub*
Government claims 10-hectare area is of strategic importance to city’s economy and not just a commercial project for the airport authority
September 23, 2016 










The Airport Authority has sealed approval to proceed with a 50-year lease at a nominal premium to develop over 10 hectares of the hub’s north commercial district into a large-scale retail, dining and entertainment destination.

The news came as the Transport and Housing Bureau on Friday expressed support for the development project, saying the government had approved the area being carved out from the airport’s original land lease scheduled to expire on June 30, 2047.

A 50-year term for the site is to take effect from this year at a “nominal premium”, a bureau spokeswoman said.

The arrangement will enhance both the authority’s flexibility in using the area and the attractiveness of the project in the market, the spokeswoman said. “The authority has completed the relevant procedures on signing the land lease with the government.”

The site spans an area of over 10 hectares and was used in the past as a temporary golf course and car park. It is to be converted for retail and hotel use, providing 1,000 hotel rooms and a total floor area of over two million square feet in the first phase of retail development, which is expected to be opened in 2019.

The spokeswoman said the project was of strategic importance to the economic and social development of Lantau Island and Hong Kong as well as forming a major part of promoting the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge.


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
*Hong Kong’s Lantau to Tuen Mun link to be delayed *
Highways Department blames ‘high technical requirements’ for the HK$45 billion project’s delay
October 31, 2016 

A nine-kilometre dual carriageway linking Lantau and Tuen Mun in the northwest New Territories will fail to meet its completion deadline, the Highways Department revealed yesterday without indicating how long the project would be pushed back.

In a statement released last night, the Highways Department cited a “complex construction environment” and “high technical requirements” as reasons for the HK$45 billion project’s delay.

The southern section of the Tuen Mun – Chek Lap Kok Link, a 1.6-kilometre bridge linking north Lantau coast and an artificial island to the east of the airport, was scheduled to open alongside the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge at the end of 2017.

The viaduct would allow traffic to Zhuhai and Macau to join the North Lantau Highway without the need to pass through the airport island. Authorities stressed the delay would not impact the commissioning date of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge

The statement explained the contractor was under a “tight construction programme” to cast 2,600 pieces of deck segments for the structure. Extra precaution was also needed as construction was performed over a sea navigation channel, two railway lines and a road highway.

Meanwhile, the northern section involves a five-kilometre sub-sea tunnel which, when complete, would be the longest of its kind in Hong Kong. 

But high water pressure and harder than normal rocks below the seabed added to the difficulties and only workers with specialised training are able to undertake the project, according to the Highways Department.

Due for completion by late 2018, the project would provide a second road link to Hong Kong International Airport, which is currently accessible only via the Lantau Link.


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
*Runway monitors need new focus*
17 November, 2016

An alliance of green groups and lawmakers wants the agenda of a Legislative Council subcommittee set up to monitor the third airport runway project to be rearranged so high-priority issues such as financing and airspace are tackled first.

“We feel this subcommittee can still check and challenge the project in a serious way,” said subcommittee member Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, a New Territories West lawmaker. “But they must change the agenda immediately.”

Chairman Wong Ting-kwong said there was no point in changing the order of meetings if the relevant authorities were not able to oblige lawmakers’ demands.

“I understand some colleagues may feel that the issues are important and want to discuss them first,” Wong said. “But it will depend on whether the authorities will be able to provide us additional information or data. If they are not ready, there is no use for us in holding meetings earlier.”

According to the current scheduling by the Transport and Housing Bureau, the first of five meetings over the legislative term will be on environmental issues. Financing will not be discussed until the fourth meeting in June.

That would affect the ability of the subcommittee to scrutinise the Airport Authority’s financing plan when it is released at the end of the year, Chu said. The plan will involve bonds and loans on top of passenger surcharges, which are already in effect.

“We worry the government will deliberately interfere and disallow us the opportunity to have meaningful debate over financing,” he added. “There are still many unanswered questions. Is the project still financially feasible? If there are cost overruns, will the burden be passed on to us? What about loan repayments?”

The HK$141.5 billion project has drawn controversy for years, not least because of the unresolved issue of how a crowded regional airspace shared by other mainland airports would accommodate the increased capacity. The project also means the Chinese white dolphin will lose 650 hectares of habitat.

More : http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...ocus-needed-big-issues-facing-third-hong-kong


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## hkskyline

*Exhibition facility pushes second phase*
November 28, 2016
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

AsiaWorld-Expo – the exhibition facility near the airport – is pressing the government to allow it to develop an adjacent site, saying it would complement planned developments on Lantau Island and greatly boost the city’s commercial tourism.

Allen Ha Wing-on, chief executive officer of AsiaWorld-Expo, made the call on Monday as he noted that conditions were ripe for the 53,000 square metre site to be kick-started for its second-phase development.

“The site has been earmarked and is ready for convention and exhibition development. We think now is the time for action. All we need is the government’s approval to start this project,” he said, adding that they had had some preliminary discussions with the government one year ago.

Ha said they hoped to develop the site as AsiaWorld-Expo’s existing 70,000 sq m of rentable space had reached saturation point with double-digit growth for the past seven years.

“This year the number of days with full capacity reached a record high of 66 – six days more than last year. The peak spring and autumn season has always been fully booked. Sometimes we are forced to reject big international events due to a lack of space. It’s a great pity,” he said.

Over the past financial year, AsiaWorld-Expo hosted over 300 big events, with 43 of them accommodating over 8,000 visitors and another 78 catering to 4,000 people.

Ha added it would take about three years to construct the new facility, which would produce tremendous economic benefits as it would complement infrastructure development on Lantau and spur the growth of commercial tourism.

More : http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...siaworld-expo-presses-government-second-phase


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
*No increase in airport construction fees for third runway, Hong Kong transport minister vows*
Charges for travellers will continue till project is completed in 2024, Anthony Cheung Bing-leung tells lawmakers
December 7, 2016

Transport minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung has vowed that there will be no further increases in the airport construction fees – in effect since August – for financing the HK$141 billion third runway project.

The fees, ranging from HK$70 to HK$180 for travellers, will be charged until 2024, when the project is scheduled to be completed, providing HK$26 billion of the funds needed.

“During the period, no further adjustments will be imposed,” Cheung told lawmakers during a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday.

The transport chief made the pledge as legislator Abraham Shek Lai-him, from the real estate sector, asked if the Airport Authority could increase the fees as well as the landing charges imposed on airlines as it pleased in the future to fund the project.

“This will greatly affect Hong Kong’s economic development,” Shek said.

The landing fees – calculated using a formula based on aircraft weight – will be raised by up to 27 per cent spread over three years from September 1.

The authority has chosen to self-fund the entire project via three means without government subsidies, namely having the government forego its dividends until 2024 (totalling about HK$47 billion), charging the airport construction fee and other levies on airlines, and borrowing from the market to the tune of about HK$69 billion.

Cheung promised that any future adjustments to the landing charges would be in line with inflation.

“Since the landing charges had been frozen for many years, there were drastic adjustments this year. Future adjustments will be subject to a consensus with the industry and an approval from the Executive Council,” he said.

Construction of the multibillion-dollar project was kick-started in August with the reclamation of approximately 650 hectares of land.


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong activists fail in legal bid to challenge decision on third airport runway construction*
Judge rejects their accusations that environmental watchdog did not take into consideration airspace issues, habitat destruction
December 22, 2016
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

The High Court has declined a bid by a Lantau resident and a conservationist to challenge the decision allowing the construction of a third airport runway, rejecting accusations that the environmental watchdog had ignored airspace issues and habitat destruction.

Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming stated in a judgment on Thursday that the grounds of the applicants’ judicial review were not well-founded or valid.

The Airport Authority, a party to the case, said it welcomed the ruling and would reduce the environmental impact of the project.

In March 2012, the government decided to proceed with plans to expand the Hong Kong International Airport by building a third runway. The director of environmental protection in November 2014 approved an environmental impact assessment report and granted a permit for the controversial project, which is expected to cost HK$141.5 billion.

But Lantau resident Ho Loy and conservationist Yu Hin-pik applied for a judicial review over the department’s decision, questioning whether it had taken into account the runway’s full impact.

In his judgment, Chow wrote that, when deciding on an environmental permit, it was not for the environmental watchdog to vet the wisdom of the authority’s proposal to expand the airport.

“[Its] function is to consider the assessment and acceptability of the environmental impact which may be caused by the project,” the judge stated.

Ho also questioned the assessment of noise and air impact due to the use of airspace in the Pearl River Delta area in relation to the projected air traffic movements in or out of Hong Kong.

But the judge said it was clear the airspace issue was not relevant to the project’s noise impact assessment or the protection of the environment – which were the watchdog’s areas of concern when deciding on the permit.

More : http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/...g-activists-fail-legal-bid-challenge-decision


----------



## hkskyline

*Dodgy sand used on runway, claims whistle-blower*
Apr. 11, 2017
The Standard _Excerpt_

A whistle-blower said substandard sand fill material had been dumped in the reclamation site of the Hong Kong International Airport's third runway at Chek Lap Kok.

In an anonymous letter to the Airport Authority, the Environmental Protection Department and Customs and Excise Department, it was claimed that a contractor allegedly provided the government with fraudulent sand fill material last month.

Instead of shipping in barges of high quality artificial sand, the contractor had dumped an impure blend of mud and low quality rock dust into the reclamation site to cut cost, the whistle-blower said.

Claiming to be an engineer at the runway's construction site, the whistle- blower demanded the government investigate the material provided by the contractor named in his letter and "stop this unlawful act."

In response to The Standard's inquiries, a spokesman of the Airport Authority said they have strict "requirements on the quality and sources of all sand fill materials."

He said that contractors are required to provide proof of the source for the material brought to the reclamation site and that authority staff routinely take samples of materials to ensure they are up to standards.

"The Airport Authority has not found any incident of non-compliance with technical requirements so far," he said.


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## hkskyline

*Airport work means fewer parking slots*
The Standard _Excerpt_
May 19, 2017

There will be 600 fewer parking spaces at the airport by the end of this year due to redevelopment of Terminal 2 as part of the third runway construction, according to the Airport Authority.

Reporters were invited to the airport control center yesterday for an annual briefing on its latest development plan.

Some 1,000 parking spaces will have to be closed later this year to make way for the expansion of Terminal 2. Meanwhile, 400 new parking spaces would be completed around the same time near Terminal 1 to compensate. Currently, there are some 3,000 parking spaces at Hong Kong International Airport. The authority said the utilization rate of parking lots is very high, and that they had almost been fully occupied during holiday seasons.

"There are sufficient parking spaces on usual days. But during the last Easter and Labor Day holidays, we observed a tight supply of parking spaces in the airport," said Paul Cheng Shui-bong, general manager of the authority's terminal operation and government facilitation.

The authority will allow drivers to reserve parking spaces for multiple days on its mobile application by the end of this year. It is also collaborating with Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung to encourage drivers to park their cars in the lots there instead.


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## skyridgeline

Just get a Kitt,a Herbie, a Christine or a Tesla to pick you up :tongue3:.


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## hkskyline

*Airport building plans taking off*
The Standard _Excerpt_
June 9, 2017 










A new building will be built at the north of Terminal 1 as part of the airport expansion in line with construction of the third runway, according to a Legislative Council paper submitted by the Airport Authority.

The main construction work will begin soon, it said.

"With the continuous growth in demand and in anticipation of the planned closure of Terminal 2 for expansion in 2019, the core processing facilities in Terminal 1 will be expanded to provide additional processing capacity," the authority said in the paper.

The authority said an annex building will be built at the north of Terminal 1, while the east hall will be expanded and a new mixed-used building will be built at the existing Car Park 4 site.

This building will have more facilities, including 40 new check-in counters with self-service luggage drop facilities, two baggage claim belts, an early luggage storage facility, and other passenger facilities such as lost and found, food and beverage outlets, ticketing counters for cross-boundary land transport and seating.

The east hall of Terminal 1 will also be expanded to add more shops and seats to accommodate more passengers.

There will be additional seats in the food court, arrivals hall and the transfer area. A new caring corner for special needs passengers will also be provided, the two existing airline services desks will also be expanded.

More security facilities will also be added. There will be three more departure security screening channels, eight additional departure immigration counters and five additional e-channels at the North Departure Immigration Hall, while a new children's play zone and a roof garden will also be located at the hall.

The Car Park 4 site at Terminal 1 will also be expanded, where the new 12-floor mixed-used building will be built near the site.

Airport Preschool, Hong Kong International Aviation Academy, a community center for airport staff with a 500-seat food court, a sports hall, a gym, function rooms and a roof garden will be in the new building.

The authority is also planning to build a passenger corridor to link Terminal 1 and the North Satellite Concourse, named the Sky Bridge and it is expected to open in 2020.


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## hkskyline

*Air bridge, roof garden and green landscaping to feature at revamped Hong Kong airport terminal*
Airport Authority to fund HK$7 billion improvement work set for completion in 2020 to boost facility’s competitiveness
June 20, 2017
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_



























_Images from on.cc_

With a new air bridge, an open-air roof garden and floor-to-ceiling green landscaping, Hong Kong is making a big push to raise its competitiveness.

The HK$7 billion enhancement project for Terminal 1 would bring “a fresh look and feel,” Airport Authority CEO Fred Lam Tin-fuk said.

New features include themed boarding gate areas, replacing grey carpets with blue ones, the introduction of specialist concept stores and an expanded food hall.

The authority also provided more details on its air bridge, which is planned to include an observation deck looking like a traditional Chinese gateway.

At 200 metres, the Sky Bridge connecting Terminal 1 with the North Satellite Concourse will be longer than the connecting bridge at Gatwick Airport near London, but slightly lower at 28 metres in height. But it will still be high enough to allow the world’s biggest passenger planes to pass underneath.

The North Satellite Concourse, which provides 10 parking stands, has drawn ridicule since it was built in 2010 for its isolated location, with shuttle buses providing the only means of access.

Asked why the bridge was not built back then, Lam said the traffic on the apron was far less than anticipated.

“Obviously as the apron became more congested, it’s no longer efficient for operation,” he said, adding buses currently have to wait up to 30 minutes before the aircraft traffic clears before moving off.


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## hkskyline

Thai Airways HS-TKC by Howard Pulling, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong airport profits fall for first time in 13 years amid soaring tax bill
Results come despite record income and rising passenger numbers*
July 6, 2017 
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

Profits fell at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) despite *record income and rising passenger numbers, snapping a 13-year run of rises in earnings. 

Attributable profit fell by 1 per cent to HK$8.27 billion, according to the latest annual report of the Airport Authority. However HKIA is still one of the most profitable airports in the world alongside London Heathrow.

The authority, which operates the airport, saw revenue swell 2.4 per cent to HK$18.62 billion and operating expenses fall 0.9 per cent to HK$5.79 billion in the last financial year. But its income tax bill soared21.2 per cent to HK$1.65 billion and depreciation and amortisation rose 9.5 per cent to HK$3.07 billion.

On Wednesday, Fred Lam Tin-fuk, authority chief executive, credited the robust performance to a workforce of 73,000 maintaining “the highest standards of safety and service”.

“In the year ahead, we will *continue to improve our service quality and efficiency through partnerships with stakeholders who share our dream of strengthening HKIA’s competitiveness as both a leading international aviation hub and a driver of Hong Kong’s economy,” Lam said.

*Passengers will benefit from the windfall in the short-term as a new air bridge, open-air roof garden, floor-to-ceiling green landscaping, expanded retail and catering options are planned for Terminal 1 by 2020.*

On the operational side, passenger traffic broke through the 70.5 million mark, despite a *reduction in flights last November with the switch to a new air traffic control system.

Freight throughout soared to 4.6 million tonnes, with HKIA *remaining the busiest facility of its kind in the world for cargo.

The number of aircraft movements flatlined at 410,000, with little room for expansion in the short to medium term with a third runway currently being built and due to launch in 2024.


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## hkskyline

Sep 1, 2017 
*Airport to build HK$3 bln terminal to cater to mega bridge*
Hong Kong Economic Journal _Excerpt_



















The Airport Authority announced details of its plans to build a HK$3 billion transit terminal that will serve as a shortcut for passengers traveling to and from mainland China via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.

Passengers arriving from the mainland and Macau via the bridge will be allowed to bypass local customs and immigration checks before boarding their flights at Hong Kong International Airport.

The five-story transit terminal will come with a 360-meter long vehicular bridge to link with the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities on an artificial island of the mega bridge.

The project will be entirely funded by the Airport Authority, which plans to start construction in 2019 after environmental permits are approved. The project is expected to be completed in 2022.

“The new facilities will operate like the SkyPier, which mainly serves tourists to and from Macau and Zhuhai who fly in and out of the airport,” said Ricky Leung Wing-kei, deputy director of engineering and technology for the authority.

In addition to the existing airport ferry service which connects nine cities across the Pearl River Delta, passengers from Zhuhai in the future may take cross-boundary buses or cars for one to two minutes to go from the transfer terminal to the airport to catch their flight.


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## hkskyline

*Bonds to help runway take off*
Sept. 27, 2017
The Standard _Excerpt_

The Airport Authority aims to raise HK$69 billion from bonds and loans - including three-year HK$5 billion retail bonds - to pay for the third runway, which is expected to cost a hefty HK$141.5 billion.

Institutional bonds of up to 10 years in Hong Kong and US dollars may be issued starting in the next fiscal year, to secure about HK$30 billion to HK$43 billion of funds.

It said some of these institutional bonds may be packaged as "green bonds." The rest - about HK$20 billion to HK$30 billion - will be from commercial bank loans.

With good loan credibility and the government's backing, the authority is confident that it will be able to obtain the needed funds.

To involve the public in funding the project, the authority said yesterday it is planning to issue HK$5 billion worth of three-year retail bonds sometime between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 fiscal years.

It did not give details of the retail bonds' lot price, annual payout, or whether it will provide more quota in case the bond is oversubscribed.

The authority said 51 percent of the needed HK$141.5 billion funds will come from the airport's own operating surplus plus the charge on flight passengers.

Since August last year passengers going through the airport at Chek Lap Kok have "contributed" HK$190 million toward the third runway.

The authority's chief executive, Fred Lam Tin-fuk, said the arrangement for retail bonds is in response to the public's demand for more engagement in the project.


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## hkskyline

Midfield developments

MAS 737 by █ Slices of Light █▀ ▀ ▀, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Pearl River Delta Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Tripartite Working Group meeting held in Chengdu*
Wednesday, November 22, 2017 
Government Press Release

The Director-General of the Air Traffic Management Bureau of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Mr Che Jinjun; the Director-General of Civil Aviation of Hong Kong, Mr Simon Li; and the President of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau, Mr Chan Weng-hong, met in Chengdu today (November 22) to exchange views on measures to enhance the Pearl River Delta airspace and minimise flight delays.

Subsequent to an supervisory-level meeting and the signing of a Memorandum of Co-operation on enhancement of air traffic management efficiency in July in Macau, the air traffic control (ATC) experts of the three sides have held a number of meetings at different levels over the past four months to discuss airspace and air traffic flow management (ATFM). Gradual progress was achieved on exchange of operational information and co-ordination on ATFM measures. The aviation authorities of the three sides agreed to continue to follow the ATFM mechanism as mentioned in the Memorandum with an aim of gradually enhancing operational efficiency of flights and reducing flight delays.

During the meeting, the three sides agreed to strive towards the common goal of improving on-time performance of flights flying to and over the Mainland from Hong Kong and Macau. Furthermore, it was agreed that the modelling and fast time simulation of the airspace and air traffic in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area would be expedited to provide reliable, precise and detailed analysis for planning and formulating air traffic management procedures and measures. This will provide data and technical support in airspace optimisation for facilitating the Three-runway System (3RS) construction at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and the sustainable development of the Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai airports.

Mr Li said he looks forward to seeing more achievements in respect of PRD airspace optimisation, airspace capacity enhancement and ATFM improvements next year. All this will help achieve the ultimate target runway capacity of 102 air traffic movements per hour under the 3RS operation at the HKIA, and achieve greater synergy in the Bay Area airspace and create an airport economic belt with international influence.


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## hkskyline

Img618569nx2 by veryamateurish, on Flickr


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## N830MH

Please share any new construction photos. I would like to see it. How is construction doing? Is coming along nicely?


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## Equario

DEL


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## hkskyline

N830MH said:


> Please share any new construction photos. I would like to see it. How is construction doing? Is coming along nicely?


DSC03710 by Martin Ng, on Flickr


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## kunming tiger

the reclaimation will take years.


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## hkskyline

kunming tiger said:


> the reclaimation will take years.


Already reported on the previous page of this thread. 2024 completion.

https://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=137033981&postcount=328


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## hkskyline

Hong Kong Airport Construction by globetrekimages, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

Evening at Hong Kong Airport by Thomas Cheung, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Attention passengers, your gate has changed: travellers urged to take extra care as improvement work continues at Hong Kong International Airport*
Airport authority to invest extra HK$2 billion for upgrades in Terminal 1
Third runway and passenger concourse will eventually double size of facility
January 10, 2019
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_









_HKIA_

Passengers flying out of Hong Kong are being warned to pay attention to the biggest change to boarding gate numbers in more than two decades, in a revamp tied to bigger improvements and infrastructure investment.

As part of an increased HK$9 billion (US$1.1 billion) spend by the operator of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), a new passenger footbridge is under construction and will connect some of the concourses by 2020, which the Airport Authority said meant the boarding gates would need to be renumbered.

The authority said it was working with airlines to ensure the changes would be fully communicated to passengers.

“Overall, the whole gate transformation revamp will be concluded by 2021,” said Chapman Fong Shui-man, general manager of Terminal 1. “Together, with all the other enhancements, the Terminal 1 annexe building, the skybridge and the toilet revamp will cost HK$9 billion.”

He said the extra spend, a rise of HK$2 billion on top of the HK$7 billion investment announced last year, would be funded by the authority, with no fees or charges passed on to passengers.

The first of two phased changes will take effect from March 28 in the main terminal at the boarding areas closest to the main security clearance area. In this change, gates 15-21 will change to gates 5-12, for example.

Gates 501 to 510 in the north satellite concourse, which can only be reached by bus, will be connected to the rest of Terminal 1. Those gates will change to gates 13-22.

The skybridge, which will be high enough to allow the Airbus A380 – the world’s largest passenger plane – to pass underneath, is expected to open by the second quarter of 2020, and means more passengers can ditch getting the bus to the plane.


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## hkskyline

Jan 11, 2019
Hong Kong Economic Journal _Excerpt_
*AA plans further HK$2 bln spending on airport Terminal 1 revamp*

Hong Kong authorities unveiled plans for additional spending to improve the facilities at the city’s international airport, aiming to add to the passenger convenience amid an expected rise in traffic.

On Thursday, the Airport Authority (AA) said it will earmark a further HK$2 billion for renovation and upgrade of infrastructure at Terminal 1, which was first opened in 1998.

Efforts will be directed at making the terminal more “smart” and bring added comfort to travelers.

The improvement works will include installing systems to support face recognition technology at some boarding gates, redesigning seats in waiting areas for departure, and renovating all restrooms at the terminal, airport officials said.

The HK$2 billion spending comes on top of the HK$7 billion already committed toward the terminal expansion, which involves, among other things, constructing a Sky Bridge to connect the terminal and the North Satellite Concourse to cope with an expected rise in passenger numbers, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reports.

According to Chapman Fong Sui-man, general manager of Terminal 1, four biometric gates that support face recognition will be installed at some boarding gates starting from the beginning of 2020, before such facilities are rolled out at all boarding gates in a year later.

Along with the new systems, there will still be a traditional checking counter at the gates, with staff assisting passengers in boarding.


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong airport’s third runway project to get help with sand supplies from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, city leader Carrie Lam says*
Chief executive announces mainland Chinese help for project, which was delayed for four months by the suspension of sand supplies and bad weather
But legislator notes lack of details given about the plan
May 16, 2019
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

Hong Kong will get crucial help from mainland China to build a third runway for its airport, the city's leader announced on Thursday.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said neighbouring provinces would help with sand supplies for the expansion, as she unveiled a raft of measures to get started on cross-border integration under the Greater Bay Area project.

Lam spoke on Thursday after leading an official delegation to this year’s Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference, which discussed the implementation of Beijing’s plan to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong cities into a financial and technological powerhouse to rival Silicon Valley by 2035.

Apart from the airport project, she also announced initiatives such as co-organising arts and technology festivals, and measures to follow-up on earlier policy pledges ranging from improved cross-border transport links, greater access for Hong Kong universities and start-ups to provincial funds, and opening up public service posts to Hongkongers.

Last month, the Airport Authority revealed that the suspension of sand supplies and bad weather had caused delays of more than four months to reclamation work for Hong Kong’s HK$141.5 billion (US$18.1 billion) third runway project. It vowed to make every effort to get fill materials and man-made sand from sources including Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces.

More : https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...g-airports-third-runway-project-get-help-sand


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## hkskyline

*Airport Authority Outlines Airport City Vision*
Press Release

(HONG KONG, 29 May 2019) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) outlines its vision and strategy to transform Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) into an Airport City in a report titled “From City Airport to Airport City” (the Report) released today.

The AA envisages an ongoing transformation that integrates the airport with many functions surrounding it, turning it into a much bigger entity – an Airport City – that drives the economic growth of Hong Kong and the region, while further strengthening HKIA’s status as an international aviation hub. In the Report the AA outlines a strategy that comprises rigorous development of various segments of the airport – core passenger and cargo services, multi-modal regional connectivity, and commercial developments including retail, entertainment and hotels, conventions and exhibitions, etc.

The AA’s Airport City vision echoes the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) which has designated Hong Kong as the region’s international aviation hub, and is also in line with the Hong Kong Government’s Lantau Tomorrow Vision which aims to reinforce Lantau’s role as a “Double Gateway” to the world and the GBA.

“From City Airport to Airport City” serves as part of the AA’s on-going communications with stakeholders and the public regarding HKIA’s development.

The full report is available at:

https://www.hongkongairport.com/en/airport-authority/publications/airport-city-report.page


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## hkskyline

*Why Singapore thinks ***** could be answer on reclamation – and how Hong Kong can benefit after severe shortage of sand*
National development minister Lawrence Wong says Singapore is looking at new ways of doing reclamation
Reclamation work for Hong Kong’s third runway delayed for four months after sand supplies from mainland China dried up
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
May 17, 2019

Singapore is testing a method that can almost halve the use of sand in reclamation projects, the country’s development minister says, in a timely piece of information for Hong Kong, which is facing a severe shortage of the material.

The city state was experimenting with reclaiming low-lying land protected by *****, which could cut sand consumption by 40 per cent, national development minister Lawrence Wong told an event in Hong Kong on Friday.

“Reclamation is a massive endeavour. It’s costly … and we have to do it carefully to minimise any environmental impact,” said Wong, who is also second minister for finance. “We are looking at new ways of doing reclamation.”

Hong Kong’s latest reclamation project, a third runway for its international airport, has been delayed by more than four months by a lack of sand supplies from mainland China.

However, there were signs on Thursday the delay could be coming to an end as Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced neighbouring provinces would resume supplies of the fill material.

Wong said reclamation through building ***** – a method long used in the low-lying Netherlands to prevent floods and to create land – had been adopted for the first time on a project to reclaim 800 hectares to relocate Singapore’s military training bases to free up valuable land. The project is expected to be completed by 2022.

More : https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...36/why-singapore-thinks-*****-could-be-answer


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## hkskyline

*SKYCITY Crosses Milestone as Airport Authority Hands over Site to New World Development*
Press Release _Excerpt_

(HONG KONG, 28 June 2019) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) today handed over the second of two sites (Site A2) in SKYCITY at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) designated for the development of retail, dining and entertainment (RDE) facilities to the awarded developer, a wholly owned subsidiary of New World Development Company Limited (“New World Development”).

The handover marked another milestone of the SKYCITY development, a core element of HKIA’s vision to transform from a city airport to an Airport City. The first site for developing the RDE facilities (Site A3) has been handed over to Roxy Limited, the wholly owned subsidiary of New World Development in May 2018.

Fred Lam, Chief Executive Officer of the AA, said, “We are thankful for the Government’s full support to the aviation industry and airport development in recent years, making it possible for us to formulate and implement the vision to transform HKIA into an Airport City, including the SKYCITY development which crosses another milestone today. I hope that different sectors of the community will work together with us and the Government to continue focusing on Hong Kong’s overall economic development.” 

The 25-hectare SKYCITY is located just a short stroll from HKIA’s passenger terminals, and is conveniently accessible by rail, road and a network of footbridges. Scheduled to be opened in phases from 2023 to 2027, the RDE facilities being developed by New World Development will take up a maximum gross floor area of 350,000 square metres. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology and creativity to develop unique dining, entertainment and retail elements, and combining experiences in learning, exploration and adventure, the project is poised to be the largest facility of its kind in Hong Kong.

SKYCITY enjoys a strategic location of neighbouring the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge which has significantly enhanced the connectivity of HKIA with 10 other cities in the Greater Bay Area.

More : https://www.hongkongairport.com/en/media-centre/press-release/2019/pr_1343


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## hkskyline

Looks like they roped off the future reclamation area : 

VT-ANE, Boeing 787-8, Air India, Hong Kong by Colin Parker, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

Camera Trick by Kelvin Wu, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Pearl River Delta Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Tripartite Working Group high-level meeting held in Hangzhou*
Thursday, July 4, 2019 
Government Press Release

The Director-General of the Air Traffic Management Bureau (ATMB) of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Mr Che Jinjun; the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Simon Li; and the President of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Chan Weng-hong, attended the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Tripartite Working Group (TWG) high-level meeting in Hangzhou today (July 4). They were briefed on the work progress of the Airspace Management Technical Sub-group and the Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) Technical Sub-group under the TWG, and discussed measures to enhance the efficiency of airspace management and regional ATFM in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). 

At the meeting, the senior management of the three parties agreed that progress has been made in a number of areas since the last meeting in September 2018. Firstly, with regard to airspace optimisation and air traffic management enhancement, the Airspace Management Technical Sub-group has just accomplished the first stage of Fast Time Simulation (FTS) work of modelling and simulation of the airspace and air traffic in the GBA with the use of the FTS software. Based on the current airspace operation integrating with the flight data, a model was constructed with a high degree of resemblance to the genuine ones. In the next stage, the TWG will make use of the FTS software to carry out assessment and analysis and will complete the simulation work this year. The TWG will formulate specific measures to further optimise airspace and air traffic management based on the results of the assessment and analysis.

The TWG is also committed to adopting a multi-pronged approach to improve the efficiency of ATFM in the region. Since the full utilisation of Route M503 last year, the overall capacity of the air routes between Hong Kong and Shanghai Pudong International Airport has been enhanced. In addition to the strengthening of the ATFM coordination mechanism, the on-time performance of flights departing from Hong Kong to the Mainland has shown improvement. The TWG will continue to study the gradual increase in the usage rates of air routes connecting Hong Kong, Macao and eastern region of the Mainland and improve the ATFM coordination mechanism to cater for inclement weather affecting an extensive area, so as to meet the growing demand for air traffic in the region in the long run.

Mr Li said that the TWG has made encouraging progress in various aspects. With the support of the CAAC ATMB, the TWG will continue to take forward ATM enhancement measures to progressively achieve the ultimate target runway capacity of 102 air traffic movements per hour under the Three-Runway System at Hong Kong International Airport and support a sustainable development of other airports in the region, and promote the healthy development of the air transport industry in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, so as to achieve greater synergy in the GBA's airspace and create an airport economic area with mutual benefit and international influence.


----------



## hkskyline

*Youngsters mourn runway death dad *
14 August 2019
The Standard _Excerpt_

Children of a bulldozer driver who died in an accident at the airport's third runway construction site said they have lost the family's sole breadwinner.

Chung Ying-wah, 38, died on his third day working at the reclamation site, when the vehicle fell into the sea on Monday, and he was trapped in the cabin.

Family members went to Kwai Chung Public Mortuary yesterday to identify the body.

The eldest son, 15, broke down outside the mortuary saying he was lost about what to do next. The teenager has a 12-year-old brother and a four-year-old sister. "She's only four. She has no idea what happened," he said.

The family has lost the sole breadwinner as his mother is a housewife, the youngster said. His father also had to support his own parents.

The driver's sister, also in tears, said the company he worked for did not explain to them the cause of the accident.

"[They] just said they were investigating. [They] did not explain the accident. I don't know why it happened. I only know that my brother is dead," she said.

Chung was driving the bulldozer at the third runway reclamation site on Monday morning when it fell into the sea.


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## hkskyline

HKG 005 by Kevin Chung Nakamura, on Flickr

HAECO 001 by Kevin Chung Nakamura, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

CX B77W B-KQI @ CX846 by Kwok Ho Eddie Wong, on Flickr

SQ B744F 9V-SFM @ SQ7952 by Kwok Ho Eddie Wong, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

* New airport facilities to come in at $5.2 billion *
The Standard _Excerpt_
Dec 5, 2019

Aviation meteorological systems, new immigration facilities and a new police base - they are among facilities to be built in support of the airport's third runway, costing HK$5.17 billion.

The government has made the proposals in a document sent to Legislative Council's panel on economic development. A funding request will be made at the Finance Committee later.

The commissioning of the third runway is expected by the end of 2024, after which the airport will be able to handle some 100 million passengers per year.

While the Airport Authority is responsible for funding the runway construction, the government will pay for the facilities to be used by various departments, including the observatory, customs, immigration and police.

HK$3 billion will go to works for government facilities inside airport buildings, including the third runway passenger building, the expanded Terminal 2 and a new integrated airport center at the existing airport island.

"Passengers departing and arriving at the airport via the third runway passenger building will complete their check-in, customs, immigration, quarantines, security processes and handle their baggage at the expanded T2," the government stated.

A new high-speed baggage handling system and automated people mover system will carry the baggage and passengers between the new third runway building and the expanded T2.

Another HK$1.87 billion will be for the construction of a new airport district operational base for the police at the airport's eastern support area.

More : http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=214198


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## hkskyline




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## hkskyline

*The extension of Terminal 1 at HKIA is now open*
Dec 13, 2019
hkairportofficial


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## hkskyline

* Hong Kong airport’s long-term investment plans to stay on course despite ongoing protests buffeting passenger numbers *
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
Jan 16, 2020









_Sing Tao_

Hong Kong International Airport, buffeted by months of civil unrest in the city, has no plans to cut back on long-term investment despite air traffic slumping at one of Asia’s busiest gateways.

Although HKIA has made huge investments, notably on a HK$144 billion (US$18.46 billion) third runway, the Hong Kong Airport Authority’s executive director for engineering and technology Ricky Leung Wing-kee on Thursday shrugged off the downturn in passenger traffic.

Leung, in his first day on the job, was speaking as the airport showed off its new HK$1 billion “skybridge” to link two terminal buildings – an upgrade that has been two years in the making.

“The fluctuation in short-term passenger numbers does not affect investment in long-term infrastructure,” Leung told a media briefing.

But he was not able to say whether discounts on airfield charges would be offered to help airlines ride out the fall in passenger volumes as travellers avoid a city which has been rocked by more than seven months of anti-government protests.

More : https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong...kong-airports-long-term-investment-plans-stay


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## hkskyline

Here is an older photo of the skybridge under construction back in November : 

BA A388 G-XLED @ BA028D by Kwok Ho Eddie Wong, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Construction of Sky Bridge at HKIA Achieves Major Milestone*
Press Release _Excerpt_

(HONG KONG, 16 January 2020) – The main structure of Sky Bridge at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been successfully delivered to its final position, concluding the prefabrication phase of the construction programme to mark an important project milestone. 

It is anticipated that Sky Bridge will be the world’s longest airside bridge, allowing the largest passenger aircraft, the A380, to pass underneath. The 200m-long Sky Bridge will connect Terminal 1 and the North Satellite Concourse, minimising travelling time between the two buildings as passengers no longer need to shuttle by buses. The Sky Bridge will also provide great views of the apron, further enhancing passengers’ airport experience.

To minimise impact on HKIA’s busy operations, Sky Bridge was prefabricated in Zhongshan. Three precast segments were transported to the assembly yard in the midfield area of HKIA from September to October 2019. The segments were then assembled to form the main structure of the bridge. On 9 January 2020, the main structure of the bridge, weighing over 5000 tonnes, was transported over 3km on HKIA’s apron from the assembly yard to the bridge’s final position. It was then erected on the bridge towers on 10 January 2020.

More : https://www.hongkongairport.com/en/media-centre/press-release/2020/pr_1433


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## hkskyline

Kalitta B747-400BCF N709CK departing HKG/VHHH by Jaws300, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

Here is an update on the new bridge to the Gate 5xx satellite concourse taken on Feb 8 :


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## hkskyline

South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
Apr 8, 2020
*Hong Kong’s Airport Authority in talks with banks for US$2.6 billion loan to fund construction of third runway*

Hong Kong’s Airport Authority (AA), which is in talks with banks for a HK$20 billion (US$2.6 billion) loan to help fund the city’s third runway, announced another round of relief package for the aviation industry valued at HK$2 billion on Wednesday.

The five-year facility for the runway, which is also meant for general corporate purposes, offers an interest margin of 72 basis points over the Hong Kong interbank offered rate (Hibor) and a top-level all-in of 82 basis points, reported Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter who are not authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be identified.

“During this difficult time, the AA has been trying its best to support business partners. As an integral part of the aviation industry, the AA is also facing a significant shortfall in revenue because of the traffic plummet,” a spokesperson for the AA said. “The AA will go to the financial market in the next two months to raise the necessary funds, in order to maintain its own liquidity for funding the airport operation and the committed capital projects. The loan will also be used to finance the new relief package.”

AA has a HK$5 billion five-year revolver due December, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The fundraising comes even as air traffic has plunged in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Funding costs have also risen for banks in Greater China amid a global dollar liquidity squeeze. 

More : Hong Kong’s airport eyes US$2.6 billion loan for third runway


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## hkskyline

Midfield Concourse | Hong Kong International by Dennis HKG, on Flickr

Stored aircraft (5) | Hong Kong International by Dennis HKG, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

* 'Extra HK$8bn paid to contractors over third runway' * 
May 18, 2020
RTHK _Excerpt_

The Airport Authority has reportedly yielded to pressure from contractors to pay them an additional HK$8 billion in order make sure the third runway project is completed on time.

The Ming Pao newspaper said the contractors for the reclamation work involved had warned that because of a shortage of marine sand, the HK$141 billion project could be delayed by up to two years, to 2026.

They first demanded HK$16.8 billion, but later halved the amount, while the authority agreed to make a supplemental agreement "to recover delays in reclamation works" after considering other options, the newspaper said.

The HK$8 billion being handed over is from a contingency fund.

Airport officials had admitted last year that the shortage of filling materials had led to a 18-week delay.

Ambrose Linn, the chief executive of Hong Kong Construction Materials Association, said he expects the supply of marine sand will continue to be tight and that prices have already increased by around 20 percent from last year.

Source : 'Extra HK$8bn paid to contractors over third runway' - RTHK


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## ajosh821

Latest screen capture from Google Earth Pro (March 2020)


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## hkskyline

*HKIA Faces Challenging Year in 2019/20* 
Press Release _Excerpt_

(HONG KONG, 24 June 2020) – Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) published its Annual Report 2019/20 today for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2020, a challenging year for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). With the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the passenger volume and flight movement dropped 18.9% and 12% to 60.9 million and 377,420 respectively. Cargo volume was also hit by international trade dispute in 2019/20, registering year-on-year drop of 7.3% to 4.7 million tonnes; however, HKIA secured the status as the world’s busiest cargo airport for the 10th consecutive year.

In response to COVID-19, the AA responded quickly to ensure the safety of passengers and airport staff. The AA fully supported and facilitated all health and quarantine measures imposed by the Government as the situation evolved, which included providing dedicated areas in Terminal 1 (T1) to process passengers arriving from affected areas and assisting in the implementation of various port health measures. HKIA has stepped up cleaning schedules and deployed cutting-edge robots to thoroughly disinfect the terminal buildings and passenger facilities. Extra hand-sanitiser dispensers have been installed and we have been using public address system announcements, posters, videos and social media to disseminate related health protection messages.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not distracted the AA from the long-term vision. During the year, the Airport City development continued and significant progress on all projects was achieved. The construction of the Three-runway System (3RS) was progressing as planned, with the third runway on track to start service in 2022, and the entire 3RS project, which includes new buildings and related infrastructure, is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

As part of the 3RS project, Terminal 2 (T2) was closed for refurbishment in November 2019. When it reopens in 2024, T2 will offer a full complement of services for arriving and departing passengers. Meanwhile, to tie in seamlessly with the T2 closure, the extension to T1 was commissioned with a new aisle of 48 check-in counters and two additional baggage reclaim carousels.

During the year, the AA continued to work on a series of enhancement projects that will enrich the airport experience. In 2019/20, solid progress was made in upgrading T1 with a vibrant new look and an elevated ambience. The East Hall food court has been revamped with fresh dining concepts, adding 300 seats and bringing the total to 1,200. To create a smoother airport experience, the AA is developing a biometric system that enables passengers to check in at a smart check-in kiosk and then use their biometric features to clear multiple pre-boarding checkpoints. This service is expected to commence in 2020.

In addition, works continued on the Sky Bridge, which will link T1 and the North Satellite Concourse (NSC). During the year, prefabrication of the bridge was completed and the installation of its equipment and systems has begun. The 200-metre span, which is expected to be the world’s longest airside bridge, will make connections to the NSC fast and easy, while providing spectacular views of the apron.

More : Press Releases, Media Centre - Hong Kong International Airport


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## hkskyline

8/30


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## hkskyline

9/16

A6-DDF, Boeing 777F, Etihad Airways Cargo, Hong Kong by Colin Parker, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

9/14


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## hkskyline

* New logistics center to expand HK air cargo capacity by 50pc *
The Standard _Excerpt_
Nov 18, 2020

A new logistics center will open in Hong Kong in 2023, paving the way for an additional 1.7 million tons of air cargo a year, Transport Secretary Frank Chan said today.

Hong Kong is also expanding the express air cargo terminal.

“With completion in 2022, our handling capacity will increase by some 50 percent to over a million tons a year,'' he said on the second day of the 2020 Asian Logistics, Maritime and Aviation Conference.

More : New logistics center to expand HK air cargo capacity by 50pc


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## hkskyline

* AA Welcomes Support in Policy Address to Airport City Development *
Press Release 
Nov 25, 2020

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) welcomes the support in the Chief Executive’s Policy Address to the Airport City development, which aims to strengthen Hong Kong International Airport’s (HKIA) as an international aviation hub. The AA also thanks the Central Government, Guangdong Provincial Government and HKSAR Government for their support to further collaboration between HKIA and Zhuhai airport.

The HKSAR Government has taken on board the AA’s recommendations in relation to developments on the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) island of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The proposals include providing automated car parks for transfer passengers and visitors to Hong Kong. There will also be an autonomous transport system connecting the HKBCF island, the airport, SKYCITY, and Tung Chung town centre. Land parcels on the island have been reserved for the development of air cargo logistics and facilities for the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy. These proposals, together with AsiaWorld-Expo Phase 2 development, will create synergies with other developments of the airport.

Jack So Chak-kwong, Chairman of the AA, said “The implementation of the Airport City development blueprint will strengthen the development of Lantau and HKIA as the “double gateway” to the world and the Greater Bay Area, propelling the economic development of Hong Kong and the region.”

Source : Press Releases, Media Centre - Hong Kong International Airport


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## hkskyline

* Hong Kong airport’s US$1.5 billion bond oversold by 10 times as investors clamour to bet on post Covid-19 travel recovery *
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
Dec 2, 2020

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), the operator of the city’s airport, said on Wednesday that it has raised US$1.5 billion by selling perpetual debt to help fund the completion of its mega third-runway project.

Investors from sovereign wealth funds to insurance companies clamoured to participate in the sale and the deal’s order book peaked at over US$15 billion. In the end, 280 investors across Asia and Europe took part in the transaction, driven by the belief that the pandemic is a temporary event and that Hong Kong is well-placed as a hub within the Greater Bay Area to benefit from the eventual rebound in travel.

“We are very pleased with the overwhelming response from the global investor community, which is a testimony to the market’s confidence in Hong Kong International Airport’s business recovery when the pandemic subsides,” said Jack So Chak-kwong, AAHK’s chairman in a statement.

More : Investors clamour to invest in Hong Kong airport’s perpetual bonds


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## hkskyline

12/5

Cathay Pacific B-KPP by Howard Pulling, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

Bridge to the North Satellite Concourse on 12/3

nice sunset over Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok International Airport by Jaws300, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

You can see the 3rd runway jut out in the distance from this aerial taken above Tai O :

DJI_0101 by Lam Kevin, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

12/30

The Impression of +852 by flipNfill Ginger, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong airport readies bond issuance worth up to $1.5 billion: sources* 
_Excerpt_
Jan 27, 2021

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The operator of Hong Kong’s main airport is aiming to raise as much as $1.5 billion via bond issuance to help fund the construction of a third runway, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Calls with investors started on Wednesday for the Airport Authority Hong Kong deal which consists of 10-year and 30-year U.S. dollar denominated unsecured notes, a term sheet showed.

The sources said the airport operator would likely raise between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, with the final amount finalised this week.

More : Hong Kong airport readies bond issuance worth up to $1.5 billion: sources


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## hkskyline

1/30

IMG_0669 by Dave Broome, on Flickr

IMG_0663 by Dave Broome, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

2/19


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## hkskyline

* Tarmac works for Hong Kong’s third runway completed, marking halfway point of HK$141.5 billion airport expansion *
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
Sep 7, 2021

Hong Kong airport bosses on Tuesday announced the completion of tarmac works on the third runway, marking the halfway point of a HK$141.5 billion (US$18.2 billion) expansion of the city’s aviation hub.

In its most substantive update on the project since construction began in 2016, the Airport Authority said the process remained on schedule and within budget, a significant feat given some of the city’s major infrastructure works had encountered delays and cost overruns.

With the expected 2022 partial launch of the new runway, the existing northern stretch will be closed for modifications.

More : Tarmac works for Hong Kong’s third runway completed


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## hkskyline

9/26


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## hkskyline

* Statement of Airport Authority on contract “T2 Foundation and Substructure Works” under Three-runway System Project *
Press Release 

(HONG KONG, 16 November 2021, 1730hrs) – Airport Authority (AA) is arranging an orderly handover of works in relation to “T2 Foundation and Substructure Works” (the “Works”) to follow-on contracts as the main contract for the Works comes to an end. AA has been paying the main contractor according to contractual terms and established procedures, while reminding the main contractor to handle all subcontracts properly and to ensure that all workers are duly paid.

All works under the Three-runway System (3RS) project are progressing, with AA continuing to target commissioning the Third Runway in 2022 and completing the 3RS project in 2024 as planned. AA has been continuously implementing various effective measures to ensure that the 3RS construction works will complete according to the planned schedule and within budget. These include, for example, phased handover of early access to works areas among different contracts, and re-sequencing of works to prioritise the completion of all critical works.

More : Press Releases, Media Centre - Hong Kong International Airport


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## hkskyline

*Workers, subcontractors on Hong Kong airport’s third runway project owed HK$100 million in unpaid wages and costs, lawmaker says*
Nov 17, 2021
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_

Some 200 workers and six subcontractors involved in building a new terminal for Hong Kong International Airport’s planned third runway are owed nearly HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) in overdue wages and project costs, a lawmaker has said amid an ongoing labour row.

Edward Lau Kwok-fan, a lawmaker with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and a mediator in the dispute, on Wednesday urged the Airport Authority to respond in the next two days to the demands of the workers and subcontractors, including paying the outstanding amounts.

The authority on Tuesday, however, said it had settled the payments with the main contractor and ordered it to handle the issue with subcontractors properly.

More : HK$100 million owed in wage row over Hong Kong airport runway project: lawmaker


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## hkskyline

*Three-runway System Development Crosses Milestone as Runway Re-designation Completed*
Dec 2, 2021
Press Release _Excerpt_

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) announced that the existing North Runway (07L/25R) at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been re-designated as the Centre Runway (07C/25C) today, signifying an important milestone for the expansion of the airport into a Three-runway System (3RS).

The new Third Runway, which will be put into operation in 2022, will be designated as the North Runway (07L/25R). Prior to that, the existing North Runway has to be re-designated as the Centre Runway (07C/25C) according to International Civil Aviation Organisation’s requirement.

At 0001hrs on 2 December, the North Runway of HKIA was closed to undergo the final re-designation procedures. The runway designation markings and the mandatory instruction markings of 07L and 25R on the runway and taxiways respectively were replaced by 07C and 25C. Movement area guidance signs on the airfield, as well as relevant equipment and procedures for HKIA’s air traffic control and airport operations control systems were also modified. The South Runway remained in operation when the North Runway was being re-designated and air traffic movements at the HKIA operated smoothly throughout the period.

More : Press Releases, Media Centre - Hong Kong International Airport


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## hkskyline

11/27

HK211127_12 by Wallace, on Flickr


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## hkskyline

*'Unimaginable' for workers to enter manhole without safety equipment: Siu Sin-man *
The Standard _Excerpt_
Dec 23, 2021

It is unimaginable that the two workers who died after falling into a manhole at the airport construction site were not given any safety equipment, the head of an industrial accident concern group said. 

Two workers died on Wednesday after they fell into a manhole at a construction site on Chun Kwan Road in Chek Lap Kok. Zhao Gao, 38, and Fan Chu-leung, 34, are believed to have been knocked unconscious by an unknown gas. 

They and three others who also felt unwell after inhaling the gas were sent to North Lantau Hospital. Yet Zhao and Fan were later pronounced dead. 

Speaking on a radio program on Thursday, Siu Sin-man, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, said it was unimaginable that the two deceased workers were only wearing a surgical mask when entering the sewage manhole for cleaning and inspection without being given any safety equipment. 

She slammed the contractor, who said safety tests were conducted before the works commenced and pointed out that they could not predict whether methane gas would be discharged from the manhole. 

More : 'Unimaginable' for workers to enter manhole without safety equipment: Siu Sin-man


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## hkskyline




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## hkskyline

* Third Runway Flight Check Begins *
Press Release _Excerpt_
Mar 26, 2022

Flight check for the Third Runway at Hong Kong International Airport has begun on 26 March 2022.

Airport Authority Hong Kong is conducting the flight check in collaboration with the Civil Aviation Department and the Flight Inspection Center of Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The flight check is expected to be completed in April 2022, with a view to ensuring that related air navigation service equipment, flight procedures and airfield ground lighting system fully meet the standards of International Civil Aviation Organisation.

More : Press Releases, Media Centre - Hong Kong International Airport


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## hkskyline

*Hong Kong’s third runway finally ready for take off, but completion comes as city’s status as global aviation hub under threat*
South China Morning Post _Excerpt_
Apr 21, 2022

Hong Kong is ready to open a third runway at its international airport six years after construction began, but the expansion comes at a time when the city’s status as a global aviation hub remains under threat.

The Airport Authority on Thursday revealed it had reached a milestone in getting the runway ready for use after meeting requirements laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

A flight check was completed earlier this month, and the authority and Civil Aviation Department said they were working together on other preparations such as statutory procedures, drills and exercises.

More : Hong Kong’s third runway ready for take off, but who will use it now?


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## hkskyline

* Third runway fee will stay till 2033, authority says *
RTHK _Excerpt_
May 23, 2022

The Airport Authority on Monday said travellers will have to keep on paying the construction fee for the third runway project until at least 2033 – three years longer than originally planned.

Officials explained at a Legco panel meeting that the Covid-19 pandemic has crushed passenger numbers, leading to a drop in income for the construction fees.

Each departing or transit passenger is currently charged up to HK$180 as one of three sources of funding for the HK$141 billion project.

More : Third runway fee will stay till 2033, authority says - RTHK


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## hkskyline

*Third runway eyes on opening this year *
The Standard _Excerpt_
May 23, 2022

The third runway of the Hong Kong International Airport aimed to commence operation this year despite the impact of the Covid pandemic, transport authorities said, as the project had cost over HK$100 billion.

Under Secretary for Transport and Housing Raymond So Wai-man said in a Legislative Council committee that the fifth wave of the pandemic had a certain impact on the construction work of the three-runway system. However, the Airport Authority had overcome the difficulties and still targeted to put the third runway into operation this year.

After the opening, So said the current north runway will be closed for two years for reconfiguration, and the full three-runway system was to be completed in 2024.

More : Third runway eyes on opening this year


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## hkskyline

* Aircraft Crash and Rescue Exercise Conducted on the Third Runway *
Press Release _Excerpt_
May 24, 2022

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) conducted an aircraft crash and rescue exercise today, in preparation for the commissioning of the Third Runway this year.

Conducted in accordance with aerodrome licensing requirement, the exercise aimed to provide Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and the airport community the opportunity to familiarise with the emergency procedures and test its readiness in responding to contingencies on the new Third Runway. 

Over 350 representatives from some 20 organisations and Government departments took part in the exercise, with HK Express as the participating airline. Volunteers role-played as passengers and families of affected passengers.

More : Press Releases, Media Centre - Hong Kong International Airport


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## hkskyline




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