Citing aviation trends, study says Chek Lap Kok may reach capacity by 2020 and calls for steps toward long-term growth
Hong Kong needs to make significant investments in its transport infrastructure to deal with a growing economy and competition from rival cities in the region, the HK2030 Study says.
Unveiled by government planners to the legislature yesterday, the study highlights the main forms of infrastructure development to be undertaken: airport, seaport and road and rail.
It refers for the first time to the possible need to build a third runway at Chek Lap Kok airport.
While the airport's Master Plan 2020 said growth in aviation demand could be satisfied by improvements to the existing airport infrastructure, trends identified by the new study point to the two runways being saturated by that time.
'There may be a need for an additional runway and transport infrastructure beyond this time frame. Early discussions are needed on how additional facilities should be provided to tie in with the long-term airport development,' it says.
This vindicates private studies that have long argued for a third runway to deal with smaller aircraft on mainland and regional routes. The Airport Authority has dismissed this proposal because of the prohibitive cost of enlarging the airport's manmade island.