Final call: groups gather at airport in last protest on third runway project
Environmental activist groups brandishing placards and banners marched through the hall chanting ‘shame on the Airport Authority’ and ‘white elephant’
Dozens of protesters gathered at Hong Kong International Airport yesterday in a final show of force against the Airport Authority’s contentious multibillion dollar third runway project – a day before new passenger surcharges and initial groundbreaking work for its construction begin.
Led by environmental activist groups Green Sense and the Airport Development Concern Network, alongside other green and political groups, protesters gathered in the arrivals hall and took turns speaking out against the HK$141.5 billion project.
Security was tight as protesters brandishing placards and banners marched through the hall chanting “shame on the Airport Authority” and “white elephant”.
One conservation group held up a mock dolphin covered in fake blood to illustrate the hundreds of hectares of marine habitat that will be lost to reclamation. The groups accuse the authority of pushing forward with the project before they had properly assessed the impact on the Chinese white dolphin.
More than 650 hectares of sea north of Chek Lap Kok – much of it prime marine habitat used by the Chinese white dolphin – will be reclaimed for the project, which also comprises support facilities and a new passenger building and apron.