Hong Kong International Airport's Skypier would be replaced in 2008 by a ferry terminal eight times the size of the current facility, to accommodate its increasing traffic with mainland cities, the Airport Authority said yesterday.
The new pier, with two additional berths and three extra levels, would have a floor area of 16,000 square metres, authority chief executive David Pang Ding-jung told a launch ceremony for the project.
Closer to the passenger terminal than the present pier, the new facility would serve more cities and offer more frequent sailings than currently offered by Skypier. The Airport Authority said its HK$1 billion investment in the new pier was needed to meet an expected 60 per cent increase in passengers over the next five years.
Skypier, the terminal for five ferry routes between Chek Lap Kok and various mainland cities, has handled 3.7 million passengers since its opening in September 2003. It serves Shekou , Fuyong, Macau, Zhongshan and Humen in Dongguan. With the new pier, the authority plans to add Shunde , Lianhua Shan and Zhuhai .
'Over the past three years, the Skypier has served more than 3 million passengers, but in the future, we will be able to process the same number in just one year,' Mr Pang said.
'Three years ago when I proposed linking Hong Kong [airport] to the Pearl River Delta by ferry, not everyone agreed with me, but now it's proved to be the right move.'