EXPANSION plans by Hongkong Telecom linked to the new airport will increase its network size by about 10 per cent.
Director of network engineering David Connoly said yesterday that the company's planned services to the port and airport scheme would add 300,000 lines to its capacity.
Much of the equipment is bought from Japan, but Mr Connoly said the company was protected from the rising value of the yen by currency agreements with suppliers.
The expansion figures exclude the planned Central and Wan Chai reclamation on Hongkong Island, subject of a heated dispute between the British and Chinese governments.
Mr Connoly said that planned expansion would cost between $3 billion and $4 billion and would have a payback of about 10 years.
''It's very capital-intensive and it's a fairly long time before you get a payback,'' Mr Connoly said.