Aviation industry players boost third Hong Kong runway plan

AVIATION industry notables have become increasingly vocal in their support of a third runway and a new terminal at Hong Kong airport.


The news comes with the recent release of the Hong Kong Airport Master Plan 2030 that focuses on the building a third runway and the building of a HK$86.2 billion (US$11.08 billion) terminal.


Even the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has come out strongly for the third runway.


"Over the last decade HKIA [Hong Kong International Airport] traffic grew from 33 million to 51 million passengers. Demand is growing faster than originally projected and the airport will certainly be saturated before the original blueprint forecast of 2040," said departing IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani, who is to be succeeded by Cathay Pacific's former CEO Tony Tyler.


Said Mr Bisignani: "That's a serious issue for Hong Kong's economy. To remain a great place for businesses to serve both China and the region, the Hong Kong hub must be supported with investments to stay ahead of the curve on capacity."


Mr Bisignani warned of rivals threaten to take Hong Kong's market share. "Beijing completed an expansion of Capital airport in 2008 that increased capacity to 82 million and already there are plans for another mega airport to serve the city's growing needs. In Shanghai, Pudong's master plan is for five runways and the ability to handle 80 million passengers and 5.7 million tonnes of cargo. To grow and remain competitive, Hong Kong needs to build as well."


Not surprisingly, Cathay's new CEO John Slosar agreed, telling a National Aviation Press Club luncheon in Sydney: "To maintain the competitive edge required to sustain Hong Kong's long-term future as an international centre for transport, trade, finance and logistics, a third runway at HKIA is going to be needed."


Again, not surprisingly, Cathay's sister company, Dragonair, also expressed similar sentiments. "Hong Kong is ideally placed in the centre of this sphere of growth, especially with regard to Asia and mainland China in particular," said Dragonair CEO James Tong.


"Hong Kong has always been admired for our excellent software, human resources, management and services, and in order to keep us well equipped and not to lose out our prominence and share in the move of this economic and aviation growth, the development of compatible hardware - the third runway - is imminent," said Mr Tong.


Also, Mark Whitehead, managing director of the Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (Hactl), the airport's No 1 groundhandler, backed the third runway too.


"Being the world's busiest aviation and air cargo hub, Hong Kong's air cargo business growth is vital for the industry as well as the economy of Hong Kong," said Mr Whitehead.


"Without the third runway, there will be irrevocable losses in cargo throughput to the neighbouring airports. It is crucial for Hong Kong to sustain its competitiveness and status as a premier air cargo hub for the region. Hactl fully supports the building of a third runway and is looking forward to growing in tandem with Hong Kong International Airport into its next phase of development," he said.


Said Hong Kong Transport Secretary: "We expect to receive a recommendation from the authority by the end of the year after public consultation. The government will consider the recommendation, with a view to deciding on the next stage of work. This includes funding, design and environmental assessment.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)