HKIA unveils major development project
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Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) has unveiled ‘Phase 1’ of its midfield development project and celebrated the completion of a HK$4.5 billion (US$577 million) facility enhancement project for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).
The HK$7 billion Phase 1 development of the airport’s midfield area includes the building of a new midfield concourse with 20 aircraft parking stands, a new cross-field taxiway and the extension of the existing automated people mover (APM) to the midfield concourse.
Construction will start in the third quarter of this year and the project is expected to generate 2,000 job opportunities. Phase 1 development is targeted for completion by the end of 2015.
The midfield area is located to the west of Terminal 1, between the two existing runways. It is the last piece of land on the airport island available for large-scale development.
Officiating at the ceremony, the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Eva Cheng, said; “HKIA has always been providing world-class services for passengers and cargo, thanks to AA for making timely investments in improving facilities to enhance the handling capacity of the airport. On the software front, the government will continue to pursue a progressive liberalisation policy on air services, encouraging airlines to add more services so as to strengthen the international network and transit role of the airport.”
Ms Cheng also mentioned that AA would launch a public consultation exercise on the HKIA Master Plan 2030 in the first half of this year. She said that such consultation, the focus of work this year, was important to Hong Kong’s status as an aviation centre and Hong Kong’s long-term economic development. She called on members of the public and the aviation industry to provide valuable comments on the strategic developments of the airport in the next 20 years.
The Chairman of the AA, Dr Marvin Cheung Kin-tung, said; “Equipping HKIA with sufficient handling capacity is key to strengthening Hong Kong’s competitiveness as a leading regional and international aviation centre, and a preferred gateway to the Mainland. To meet future demand, the new midfield concourse with 20 aircraft parking stands will ultimately enable about 10 million passengers a year to embark and disembark aircraft using air bridges at this concourse.”
In Phase 1 works, 11 of the 20 aircraft parking stands to be built at the midfield are bridge-served, inclusive of some stands equipped with three air bridges designed for superjumbo aircraft A380. The remaining nine stands are operational stands not being connected to the midfield concourse with air bridges in Phase 1 works.
“Moving ahead, the upcoming midfield development project, together with our long-term development blueprint, HKIA Master Plan 2030, will become the most important corporate projects of the AA. They will position HKIA for future challenges and opportunities,” Dr Cheung added.
As part of the AA’s continuing green efforts, a series of environmental initiatives are also being incorporated into the design of the midfield development project. The floor-to-ceiling fa
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