HK airport officials release master plan
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Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has released its 20-year development blueprint for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) to solicit stakeholder and public feedback on the airport’s future development direction.Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030 (Master Plan 2030) outlines two development options for public consultation.
The first option is for maintaining the existing two-runway system, which would help meet Hong Kong’s aviation demand in the medium term only. The second option is to build a new runway to increase capacity, which would enable HKIA to meet the city’s air traffic demand up to and possibly beyond 2030 while further strengthening its position as a leading regional and international aviation hub.During a three-month public consultation exercise starting from 3 June, stakeholders and the public are invited to submit their views and comments to the Social Sciences Research Centre (SSRC) of the University of Hong Kong.
SSRC is appointed by AAHK to collect and compile public views independently. A series of roving exhibitions, public forums and stakeholder briefings will form a key part of the exercise, which will end on 2 September.Speaking at the launching ceremony of the Master Plan 2030 Public Consultation, AAHK Chairman Dr Marvin Cheung Kin-tung said: “HKIA is an important asset of Hong Kong. Its expansion is inextricably connected with Hong Kong’s continued development as a thriving international business and financial centre.”With Asia Pacific, and in particular the Mainland, increasingly driving global and regional economic growth, air traffic demand has been experiencing strong growth in the past decade.
This trend is expected to continue, and Hong Kong is well positioned to capture the opportunities it presents. The question is how much of such opportunities HKIA is able to capture in future. The current two-runway system is forecast to be saturated by around 2020, and beyond that, HKIA will not be able to meet additional demand. This could irrevocably harm Hong Kong’s position as a global aviation hub.”The rising demand is the reality that we need to confront. We must plan ahead to ensure that Hong Kong can sustain its competitiveness in the wider business sphere and the more specific aviation sector.
Master Plan 2030 details our research and assessment of how we can address HKIA’s capacity problem and meet future demand. We are totally committed to working together with our stakeholders to implement the option that will serve Hong Kong best in the coming decades.”The Master Plan 2030 study, which commenced in July 2008, is part of AAHK’s regular five-year review of the airport’s development needs. Nine independent consultants were commissioned to research different strategic aspects of the airport’s development. After three years of intensive study and review by the consultants and AAHK management, with inputs from the professionals of the airport community, two different options for HKIA’s future expansion are proposed for public consultation.
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