Third runway given the green light by government green advisers

The government's environment advisers have backed the plan to build a third runway at the airport despite concerns over its impact on marine ecology.

The endorsement by the Advisory Council on the Environment means the focus will shift to the question of how the multibillion-dollar plan will be funded.

Council chairman Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing said it had recommended that the government accept the environmental impact assessment report and issue a permit with 20 conditions attached.

"A majority of the members supported endorsement with conditions," he said after a four-hour meeting.

The recommendation will be sent to the Director of Environmental Protection who must decide within 30 days whether to issue a work permit to the Airport Authority. Conditions include the creation of a 2,400 hectare marine park; two funds to support improvements to the marine ecology and fisheries resources; and speed controls on the authority's ferries.

Lam said there had been no formal vote and shrugged off fears the decision might be subject to a legal challenge; some green activists had claimed the report was flawed and measures to compensate for environmental damage were not convincing. He said the authority would still have to satisfy the council on details related to the conditions before it could start work as scheduled in 2016.