AVIATION IN assuming his department's top job, the Deputy Director of Civil Aviation, Richard Siegel, will assume the massive task of co-ordinating the move of 70-year-old Kai Tak airport to Chek Lap Kok.
Mr Siegel, 51, will succeed the retiring Director of Civil Aviation, 59-year-old Peter Lok Kung-nam, in January, when Mr Lok takes pre-retirement leave.
Mr Siegel, who is likely to be the department's last expatriate director, is taking over at a crucial time.
The single-runway Kai Tak, which has been the territory's principal airport since January 1925 and saw international flights begin in March 1936, is to close in April 1998 when the Chek Lap Kok airport is due to start operations.
The move will be a challenging one, aviation analysts say, as the co-ordination involved is immense.
'You could look at it in two ways,' one industry analyst said. 'Either we should look at it as though he's very lucky and is taking over at an exciting time, or we should be feeling sorry for him. It'll be interesting, no matter what you think.' The new airport's opening will entail the commissioning of new equipment, increasing air traffic control staff and making the move overnight.