https://www.scmp.com/rss/318905/feed A proposal to build a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport to accommodate more travellers and cargo has sparked controversy as critics have expressed concern over its possible environmental impact. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Brian Wong Brian Wong A magistrate has slammed Hong Kong’s Airport Authority and an engineering firm for exploiting an expert involved in a multibillion-dollar third runway project, acquitting him of fraud-related charges after finding he had inadvertently created false inspection records due to heavy workload. Rocky Cheung Lok-on, 42, on Monday was cleared of 13 counts of using a document with intent to deceive, which arose from as many supervision reports containing bogus feedback about the quality of work at an... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3282340/hong-kong-court-slams-airport-authority-aecom-over-exploiting-expert-third-runway-project?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3282340/hong-kong-court-slams-airport-authority-aecom-over-exploiting-expert-third-runway-project?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:18:01 +0000 Brian Wong Brian Wong A former principal manager of Hong Kong’s Airport Authority has admitted to accepting HK$3.3 million (US$423,200) in bribes from two subcontractors of the billion-dollar third runway project as well as handling more than HK$5.6 million in illegal proceeds. Ricky Lee Wing-fai, 49, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy for a public servant to accept an advantage and six of money laundering before a District Court judge on Thursday. His wife Diana Chan Kok-tan, 46, who initially faced four... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3277315/former-airport-authority-executive-pleads-guilty-accepting-hk33-million-bribes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3277315/former-airport-authority-executive-pleads-guilty-accepting-hk33-million-bribes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Sep 2024 08:05:10 +0000 The third runway will be fully operational at Hong Kong International Airport towards the end of the year. Global aviation has rebounded from the pandemic. Likewise, Hong Kong’s own air transport industry and its flagship Cathay Pacific have made significant strides. So it is imperative that the third runway achieves full capacity quickly to cement the city’s status as an international transport hub. Both passenger and cargo capacities need to be brought fully online. Cathay, though, has said it... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3271273/use-third-airport-runway-cement-hong-kongs-hub-status?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3271273/use-third-airport-runway-cement-hong-kongs-hub-status?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jul 2024 23:30:09 +0000 Hong Kong’s Airport Authority has offered a subsidy carrot of up to HK$7 million (US$897,000) a year to airlines that launch a new daily route as part of a bid to fill up extra capacity created by a third runway. Chapman Fong Shui-man, the authority’s deputy director of operations, on Tuesday explained the incentive was part of a two-pronged plan designed to encourage airlines to add new destinations and increase the number of long-haul routes as the airport prepared to open its three-runway... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3270688/hk7-million-payouts-offer-airlines-hong-kong-airport-bids-fill-new-runway-slots?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3270688/hk7-million-payouts-offer-airlines-hong-kong-airport-bids-fill-new-runway-slots?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jul 2024 11:26:08 +0000 Hong Kong is turning to airlines other than Cathay Pacific Airways to fill capacity opened up by the airport’s third runway as the city’s flag carrier has had to delay its full recovery to the first quarter of next year. Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung has also urged Cathay Pacific to bring forward its target date for a return to full capacity. A source said that because of Cathay’s slower than expected recovery, the Airport Authority would announce its own initiatives next... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3270132/we-wont-solely-rely-cathay-hong-kongs-transport-chief-says-airport-capacity-increases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3270132/we-wont-solely-rely-cathay-hong-kongs-transport-chief-says-airport-capacity-increases?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2024 01:30:14 +0000 Passengers flying out of Hong Kong will have to pay an extra HK$10 (US$1.3) each in airport security fees next year, with the amount set to keep rising in the next few years. The Airport Authority said on Tuesday that the passenger security charge at Hong Kong International Airport would increase from HK$55 to HK$65 starting in January 2025, an 18 per cent rise. The fee, collected by airlines, will rise again in phases to HK$75 from 2027 onwards depending on passenger traffic and prevailing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3262623/hong-kong-airport-passengers-departing-city-pay-more-security-fees-2025?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3262623/hong-kong-airport-passengers-departing-city-pay-more-security-fees-2025?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 08:03:23 +0000 The debt burden for construction of Hong Kong’s airport expansion has soared to HK$123 billion (US$15.7 billion), with no end in sight to a levy on passengers who fly out from the city. The Airport Authority said on Tuesday the total debt for the airport expansion work, expected to be completed this year, had jumped because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis. “There were significant increases due to the Covid pandemic … since the commissioning of the three-runway system will be introduced... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3261791/debt-burden-fund-hong-kongs-airport-expansion-soars-hk123-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3261791/debt-burden-fund-hong-kongs-airport-expansion-soars-hk123-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2024 15:14:46 +0000 Hong Kong’s No 2 official promised on Saturday the new three-runway system at the airport would be completed on schedule this year, a day after transport officials dismissed “groundless” allegations that the project would be delayed. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said that plans to expand and improve airport facilities were a major goal of the administration. “As we return to normality after the pandemic, we are striving to increase the capacity of Hong Kong International Airport while... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3250841/hong-kongs-airport-extension-project-will-be-finished-time-citys-no-2-official-eric-chan-vows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3250841/hong-kongs-airport-extension-project-will-be-finished-time-citys-no-2-official-eric-chan-vows?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Feb 2024 10:43:12 +0000 An enthusiastic response has greeted the Hong Kong Airport Authority’s first retail bond offering targeting the general public in 20 years. The approach to funding a third runway is welcome at a time of tight government resources and may be a model for future fundraising efforts. However, the imminent debut of the new runway is a reminder of how much more the city must do to restore its role as an international aviation hub. Banks and brokers have been waiving a range of fees for retail... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249544/bond-help-hong-kong-airport-runway-weather-cash-storm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3249544/bond-help-hong-kong-airport-runway-weather-cash-storm?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Jan 2024 22:31:09 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency has charged a former Airport Authority general manager, the wife of another ex-senior employee and six others in connection with a HK$4.3 million bribery case related to multimillion-dollar contracts for the third runway mega project. The move by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday brought the total number of those charged over the case to 10, comprising nine men and a woman, aged 27 to 65, who face a total of 15 charges. Three of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3210328/hong-kong-airport-authority-ex-general-manager-wife-former-executive-among-8-charged-over-hk43?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3210328/hong-kong-airport-authority-ex-general-manager-wife-former-executive-among-8-charged-over-hk43?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Feb 2023 11:57:13 +0000 Clifford Lo Clifford Lo Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency has charged a senior executive at the city’s Airport Authority and a subcontractor for allegedly accepting and offering bribes totalling about HK$3.8 million (US$484,000) in relation to the third-runway mega project. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Friday said the two defendants were Ricky Lee Wing-fai, 47, principal manager of the Airport Authority, and Ng Kai-on, 65, sole director-cum-shareholder of Carol Engineering Limited – a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3189452/hong-kong-airport-authority-executive-subcontractor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3189452/hong-kong-airport-authority-executive-subcontractor?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Aug 2022 05:06:20 +0000 Ng Kang-chung Ng Kang-chung Four senior Hong Kong Airport Authority managers were among 30 people arrested by the city’s anti-corruption agency for allegedly receiving bribes of cash, luxury watches, fine wines and gold coins for awarding contracts related to the third runway mega project. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Thursday said the four authority staff members arrested were a general manager, a principal manager, a senior manager and a senior project inspector employed by the authority for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3189404/anti-graft-agency-arrests-4-hong-kong-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3189404/anti-graft-agency-arrests-4-hong-kong-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Aug 2022 14:00:08 +0000 Travellers leaving Hong Kong are likely to continue paying a tax to help fund a third runway until at least 2033, the city’s Airport Authority has said. The airport construction fees, ranging from HK$70 to HK$180 for each departing or transit passenger, are one of three sources of funds for the HK$141.5 billion (US$18.02 billion) third runway project, which began construction in 2016. The city has experienced a sharp drop in passenger numbers since the Covid-19 pandemic struck more than two... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3178819/travellers-leaving-hong-kong-could-continue-paying-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3178819/travellers-leaving-hong-kong-could-continue-paying-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 May 2022 10:19:15 +0000 Hong Kong is ready to open a third runway at its international airport six years after construction began, but the expansion comes at a time when the city’s status as a global aviation hub remains under threat. The Airport Authority on Thursday revealed it had reached a milestone in getting the runway ready for use after meeting requirements laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. A flight check was completed earlier this month, and the authority and Civil Aviation Department... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3175057/hong-kongs-third-runway-finally-ready-take-completion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3175057/hong-kongs-third-runway-finally-ready-take-completion?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Apr 2022 10:12:49 +0000 Some 200 workers and six subcontractors involved in building a new terminal for Hong Kong International Airport’s planned third runway are owed nearly HK$100 million (US$12.8 million) in overdue wages and project costs, a lawmaker has said amid an ongoing labour row. Edward Lau Kwok-fan, a lawmaker with the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong and a mediator in the dispute, on Wednesday urged the Airport Authority to respond in the next two days to the demands of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3156356/workers-subcontractors-hong-kong-airports-third-runway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3156356/workers-subcontractors-hong-kong-airports-third-runway?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Nov 2021 06:32:01 +0000 Hong Kong’s Airport Authority has waded into a labour row between contractors involved in the third runway project, calling for the proper management of workers’ wages following a staff protest over unpaid salaries. More than 100 staff members under main contractor Leighton Asia-Chun Wo, a joint venture, launched a sit-in demonstration on Tuesday morning, claiming they were owed wages at the end of their work arrangements with the authority. The authority said it had been paying the main... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3156283/hong-kong-airport-authority-warns-contractors-over-wage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/transport/article/3156283/hong-kong-airport-authority-warns-contractors-over-wage?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Nov 2021 12:51:54 +0000 The Airport Authority announced the completion of tarmac works on the third runway at Hong Kong International Airport last month. This large-scale reclamation project involved 650 hectares of land but only took five years, highlighting the efficiency of reclamation as a land development option. Not only does the three-runway system strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a leading aviation hub, it has also boosted the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, which has been criticised over the large scale of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3153616/how-hong-kongs-third-runway-reclamation-success-can-aid-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3153616/how-hong-kongs-third-runway-reclamation-success-can-aid-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Oct 2021 22:45:12 +0000 Hong Kong airport bosses on Tuesday announced the completion of tarmac works on the third runway, marking the halfway point of a HK$141.5 billion (US$18.2 billion) expansion of the city’s aviation hub. In its most substantive update on the project since construction began in 2016, the Airport Authority said the process remained on schedule and within budget, a significant feat given some of the city’s major infrastructure works had encountered delays and cost overruns. With the expected 2022... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3147890/tarmac-works-hong-kongs-third-runway-completed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3147890/tarmac-works-hong-kongs-third-runway-completed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Sep 2021 10:30:31 +0000 Bernard Chan wrote last week of the Hong Kong government’s plan to expand Zhuhai airport (“Why Hong Kong aviation is going to come back stronger”, December 4). At Logie Group, I advise on infrastructure finance in Asia and I welcome these plans. There has long been a need to coordinate the five airports in the Greater Bay Area. Amid this inertia, Zhuhai has been so underutilised that it has been able to close to the public when it holds its biennial air show. Investing in Zhuhai would involve... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3112882/hong-kong-set-soar-zhuhai-airport-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3112882/hong-kong-set-soar-zhuhai-airport-move?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Dec 2020 22:30:08 +0000 Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), the operator of the city’s airport, said on Wednesday that it has raised US$1.5 billion by selling perpetual debt to help fund the completion of its mega third-runway project. Investors from sovereign wealth funds to insurance companies clamoured to participate in the sale and the deal’s order book peaked at over US$15 billion. In the end, 280 investors across Asia and Europe took part in the transaction, driven by the belief that the pandemic is a temporary... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3112286/airport-authority-hong-kong-raises-us15-billion-debt-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3112286/airport-authority-hong-kong-raises-us15-billion-debt-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Dec 2020 11:03:59 +0000 Increasing Hong Kong’s land supply through reclamation has became controversial as public awareness grows about the irreversible damage it causes to marine habitats. Although the Chinese white dolphin was the mascot of the Hong Kong handover, its numbers have kept dropping because of large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and Hong Kong airport’s third runway. There were 188 dolphins recorded in 2003 but only 32 in 2019, an alarming drop of 83 per cent. This... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3107195/behind-carrie-lams-grand-reclamation-plan-hong-kong-lies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3107195/behind-carrie-lams-grand-reclamation-plan-hong-kong-lies?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Oct 2020 22:45:11 +0000 Hong Kong’s environmental watchdog has urged two government agencies to cooperate on monitoring the population of endangered Chinese white dolphins after years of separate surveys from both agencies threw up wildly different estimates. Members of the Advisory Council on the Environment made the suggestion following a meeting with representatives from the Airport Authority on the implementation of measures to mitigate the environmental impact of Hong Kong’s third runway project. For Hong Kong’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3100574/watchdog-urges-hong-kong-airport-authority?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3100574/watchdog-urges-hong-kong-airport-authority?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2020 12:54:53 +0000 Five years into his job as chief executive officer of Airport Authority Hong Kong, Fred Lam is facing his gravest challenge to keep one of the world’s busiest airports humming. The international airport at Chek Lap Kok managed 74.7 million passengers in 2018 and handled more than 5 million tonnes of cargo, a feat that helped it land the Airport of the Year award. Lam’s mission is to grow the size to 120 million and 10 million, respectively, by 2035. Key to that ambitious target is a plan for a... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3040789/hong-kong-airport-faces-decade-growth-pain-ceo-tackles-protests-recession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3040789/hong-kong-airport-faces-decade-growth-pain-ceo-tackles-protests-recession?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Dec 2019 02:30:10 +0000 Hong Kong will get crucial help from mainland China to build a third runway for its airport, the city's leader announced on Thursday. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said neighbouring provinces would help with sand supplies for the expansion, as she unveiled a raft of measures to get started on cross-border integration under the Greater Bay Area project. Lam spoke on Thursday after leading an official delegation to this year’s Hong Kong/Guangdong Cooperation Joint Conference, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3010533/hong-kong-airports-third-runway-project-get-help-sand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3010533/hong-kong-airports-third-runway-project-get-help-sand?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2019 11:38:38 +0000 The third runway at the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport will enable it to handle the throughput of 80 million passengers a year forecast for 2030. But it is likely to be completed long before Hong Kong is ready with its third runway, which is forecast (optimistically) to be completed in 2024. It took the Shenzhen airport just over two years to be completed, in 1991. Shenzhen’s third runway, running north-south, is situated 550 metres west (outboard) of the present two, also north-south,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3009999/why-hong-kongs-third-runway-mistake-look-shenzhen-airspace-push?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3009999/why-hong-kongs-third-runway-mistake-look-shenzhen-airspace-push?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 05:00:12 +0000 Hong Kong has been designated as a global aviation hub over rival Shenzhen under China’s ambitious plan to develop an economic powerhouse in the Pearl River Delta, according to the city’s financial secretary. In an exclusive interview with the Post, Paul Chan Mo-po said the blueprint for the Greater Bay Area clearly differentiated Hong Kong from the 10 other cities in the cluster, and that local authorities were pushing for high value-added air cargo and logistics services. About two months... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3009289/hong-kongs-status-global-aviation-hub-greater-bay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3009289/hong-kongs-status-global-aviation-hub-greater-bay?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 May 2019 11:00:10 +0000 I refer to your April 23 editorial, “Hong Kong’s airport must meet the challenges of regional competition”. With challenges posed by the rapid expansion of nearby airports and the popularisation of the point-to-point model (where airlines directly connect two smaller destinations with narrow-body aircraft) as opposed to the hub-and-spoke model (where passengers connect via a large hub, for example, Hong Kong), it is imperative that Hong Kong’s airport adopts proactive measures. To begin with,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3007613/three-ways-make-hong-kong-airport-fly-singapores-changi-has-shown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3007613/three-ways-make-hong-kong-airport-fly-singapores-changi-has-shown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Apr 2019 05:00:07 +0000 Rapid development in the “Greater Bay Area” means there has to be a constant upgrading of infrastructure. The central government’s approval of expansion plans that include a third runway for Shenzhen’s airport should therefore not come as a surprise. But for Hong Kong, also working on increasing its airport capacity and counting on being the region’s aviation hub for international travel, such competition could be perceived as unwelcome. It should not be viewed in such a way; instead, there... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3007378/hong-kong-airport-must-meet-challenges-regional-competition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3007378/hong-kong-airport-must-meet-challenges-regional-competition?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Apr 2019 13:31:42 +0000 Shenzhen has been given approval to expand its airport and add a third runway, posing a longer-term challenge to neighbouring Hong Kong and straining the region’s already crowded airspace. The central government’s National Development and Reform Commission gave Shenzhen’s plan the go ahead on Tuesday. It will cost 9.35 billion yuan (US$1.39 billion) and make the airport ready by 2030 to handle 80 million passengers annually, up from 49 million last year. China’s top economic planning body said... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3006466/shenzhen-gets-nod-expand-airport-and-build-third-runway-posing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3006466/shenzhen-gets-nod-expand-airport-and-build-third-runway-posing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2019 01:00:16 +0000 On a recent visit through Hong Kong, I noticed fleets of dredgers at work on the Hong Kong International Airport’s third runway: an impressive sight. In 2003, hundreds of tonnes of boulders were moved from the Tung Chung River on Lantau to a staging site near the Disney park at Penny’s Bay to decorate a large ornamental lake. The Tung Chung Rural Committee chairman and an accomplice were subsequently found guilty in the District Court of “conspiracy to defraud”, among other charges, as the court... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2153745/why-hong-kong-airport-must-assure-public-green-bona-fides-third?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2153745/why-hong-kong-airport-must-assure-public-green-bona-fides-third?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jul 2018 11:02:26 +0000 Hong Kong is unlikely to get a fourth runway after its third airstrip is completed by 2024, even as Asian cities race to boost flight capacity to meet surging demand for air travel, the local airport chief has said. Jack So Chak-kwong, chairman of the Hong Kong Airport Authority, put that down to a lack of supporting infrastructure for the potential influx of travellers, such as hotels, roads, restaurants and even car parking spaces. “I think a city has got to plan for expansion in totality …... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2152177/fourth-runway-hong-kong-unlikely-airport-chief-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/2152177/fourth-runway-hong-kong-unlikely-airport-chief-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 25 Jun 2018 01:00:00 +0000 The operator of Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is mulling how to speed up key aspects of its expansion to increase flights and use three runways before the project’s 2024 completion date. The Hong Kong Airport Authority’s options are focused on the closure of the northern runway in 2022 for about two years to allow for tunnelling work to create a road access for airport vehicles to cross the live runway safely without delaying or endangering aircraft. Aircraft would start using the new... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2142490/hong-kong-airport-looking-speed-expansion-work-cut-impact?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2142490/hong-kong-airport-looking-speed-expansion-work-cut-impact?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Apr 2018 01:00:30 +0000 Hong Kong’s transport minister has expressed confidence in the Airport Authority’s plan to raise HK$69 billion in loans by itself for the construction of a controversial third runway. Frank Chan Fan also dismissed the need for the government to act as a guarantor, as he addressed concerns over the ability of the Hong Kong International Airport operator to repay the debt. Three days after the Airport Authority released details of the different ways it planned to fund the HK$141.5 billion project... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2113424/hong-kong-transport-chief-confident-airport-authority-plan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2113424/hong-kong-transport-chief-confident-airport-authority-plan?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Sep 2017 10:15:30 +0000 HK$5 billion worth of retail bonds could be up for grabs next year as the Hong Kong Airport Authority revealed plans for raising HK$141.5 billion to fund construction of its third runway. The authority emphasised the plan would enable Hongkongers to enjoy the fruits of Hong Kong International Airport’s success and denied it was a ploy to secure a stronger mandate for the controversial project. While construction for the third runway commenced in August last year, details have yet to be hammered... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2112929/hong-kong-airport-authority-plans-hk5-billion-retail-bonds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2112929/hong-kong-airport-authority-plans-hk5-billion-retail-bonds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Sep 2017 12:01:07 +0000 Aviation unionists in the city warned on Tuesday that the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy is failing to tackle a looming shortage of airport technicians with the third runway due for completion in 2024. They pointed to a “mismatch” between skill needs and training, saying that the academy offered no courses for technicians despite the growing demand for such jobs. A total of 73,000 people currently work at the airport. Once the HK$141 billion third runway is operational, an additional... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2104937/raise-training-and-pay-hong-kong-aviation-technicians-or-face?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2104937/raise-training-and-pay-hong-kong-aviation-technicians-or-face?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Aug 2017 07:57:08 +0000 The Airport Authority will spend HK$7 billion on upgrading and expanding facilities to cope with growing traffic before the launch of the third runway in 2024. While the runway project meant airlines faced charges and fees, the authority said no extra costs would be directly passed on to passengers. “For the overall third runway project, we have made a separate financial arrangement with airline companies and they agree to implement new charges and fees by phases. This new investment will not... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2097992/hong-kong-airport-get-hk7-billion-upgrade-ahead-third-runway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2097992/hong-kong-airport-get-hk7-billion-upgrade-ahead-third-runway?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2017 12:29:46 +0000 Hong Kong’s controversial new air traffic management system (ATMS) appeared during the Lunar New Year travel period to have surmounted its teething pains, with air traffic controllers handling more flights than ever before. The city’s aviation chief hailed the reliability of the new ATMS, which managed an average of 2,055 daily flight and overflight movements – up 3 per cent from the same period last year, when the old system was used. Faulty new HK$1.56 billion air traffic control system stalls... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2067165/hong-kongs-new-air-traffic-control-system-overcomes-toothing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2067165/hong-kongs-new-air-traffic-control-system-overcomes-toothing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Feb 2017 07:51:18 +0000 On paper, residents of Kat Hing Gardens, a cluster of small village houses near Kam Sheung Road railway station in Kam Tin should have a phenomenal view – one of sprawling wetlands full of waterbirds and rare butterflies. After all, the then Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) had built them to compensate for 12 hectares of natural wetland between Kam Tin and Yuen Long that was permanently lost during the construction of the Kam Sheung Road section of the West Rail Line. Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2058628/how-shrinking-dolphin-numbers-hong-kongs-largest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2058628/how-shrinking-dolphin-numbers-hong-kongs-largest?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Jan 2017 01:05:45 +0000 The High Court has declined a bid by a Lantau resident and a conservationist to challenge the decision allowing the construction of a third airport runway, rejecting accusations that the environmental watchdog had ignored airspace issues and habitat destruction. Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming stated in a judgment on Thursday that the grounds of the applicants’ judicial review were not well-founded or valid. The Airport Authority, a party to the case, said it welcomed the ruling and would... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2056591/hong-kong-activists-fail-legal-bid-challenge-decision?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2056591/hong-kong-activists-fail-legal-bid-challenge-decision?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Dec 2016 08:30:40 +0000 Transport minister Anthony Cheung Bing-leung has vowed that there will be no further increases in the airport construction fees – in effect since August – for financing the HK$141 billion third runway project. The fees, ranging from HK$70 to HK$180 for travellers, will be charged until 2024, when the project is scheduled to be completed, providing HK$26 billion of the funds needed. “During the period, no further adjustments will be imposed,” Cheung told lawmakers during a Legislative Council... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2052584/no-increase-airport-construction-fees-third-runway-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2052584/no-increase-airport-construction-fees-third-runway-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Dec 2016 08:14:58 +0000 An alliance of green groups and lawmakers wants the agenda of a Legislative Council subcommittee set up to monitor the third airport runway project to be rearranged so high-priority issues such as financing and airspace are tackled first. “We feel this subcommittee can still check and challenge the project in a serious way,” said subcommittee member Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, a New Territories West lawmaker. “But they must change the agenda immediately.” Chairman Wong Ting-kwong said there was no point... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2046982/new-focus-needed-big-issues-facing-third-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2046982/new-focus-needed-big-issues-facing-third-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Nov 2016 11:23:27 +0000 A luxury hotel, retail and office complex adjacent to the Hong Kong International Airport will start inviting tenders from next month for a partnership with “like-minded” developers. Skycity Development, which will occupy 25 hectares at North Lantau Island – approximately two-thirds the size of Causeway Bay – hopes cater an influx of visitors brought on by the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the planned third-runway system. However, a lawmaker said the Airport Authority... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2028736/airport-authority-bets-future-visitor-influx-new-hotel-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2028736/airport-authority-bets-future-visitor-influx-new-hotel-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Oct 2016 08:10:56 +0000 The Airport Authority has come under fire again – this time from government environmental advisers – over plans to translocate just 5 per cent of rare and slow-growing coral colonies found near the construction site of its third runway. Members of the Advisory Council on the Environment questioned whether the authority had conducted proper assessment on the exact species of the coral colonies and whether they were endemic or unique to Hong Kong, with the authority claiming only that it was a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2015361/environment-experts-slam-hong-kongs-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2015361/environment-experts-slam-hong-kongs-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Sep 2016 00:00:42 +0000 The city’s environmental authorities have outlined “enhancement” measures aimed at compensating for marine habitat destruction in assessing the impact of a proposed third runway at Hong Kong’s airport, the High Court heard on Thursday. These measures would be a “bonus” on top of original impact mitigation plans, barrister Ben Yu SC said. On the third day of a four-day legal battle over an environmental impact assessment for the runway project by the Environmental Protection Department, Yu, who... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1986788/hong-kong-authorities-outlined-enhancement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1986788/hong-kong-authorities-outlined-enhancement?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Jul 2016 13:07:52 +0000 A proposed third runway at Hong Kong’s airport would not create more air pollution for Hongkongers, because planes using the airstrip would be flying mostly at high altitudes, a top lawyer representing the government told the High Court on Wednesday. But Lantau resident Ho Loy and conservationist Yu Hin-pik, who are seeking a judicial review of the city’s environmental watchdog approving the project, questioned whether the department had taken into account the runway’s full impact. On the second... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1986289/third-runway-wont-make-hong-kong-more-polluted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/1986289/third-runway-wont-make-hong-kong-more-polluted?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Jul 2016 00:03:30 +0000 The plans – which include more take-off and landing slots for the growing number of high-flying business executives and tycoons for whom normal air travel is not an option – follow a row over abuse of the current system for booking runway slots. SCMP, June 2 What abuse? Our government underpriced landing slots for private jets at the airport and an unofficial market then arose to push those slot prices back up to where they belong, with private speculators pocketing the difference.   Transport... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1965291/crying-big-tears-over-those-vain-private-jet-business-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1965291/crying-big-tears-over-those-vain-private-jet-business-travellers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jun 2016 13:30:15 +0000 By 2034, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says that one in five passengers worldwide will be travelling to China, from China, or within China. There could be no better proxy for the fast emerging Chinese consumer economy – and for the way China is standing global aviation on its head. If you want to feel excited, the implications for the global tourism industry, and all services linked with it, are giddying. If you want to feel gloomy, nothing could better illustrate the... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1936675/what-third-runway-hong-kong-needs-another-airport?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/1936675/what-third-runway-hong-kong-needs-another-airport?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Apr 2016 06:15:45 +0000 A confidential consultant report assessing the risk of marine traffic accidents after a large area is reclaimed for the proposed third airport runway has underestimated the number and scale of potential accidents, says a veteran environmental scientist who has obtained the report. Lam Chiu-ying, an adjunct professor in Chinese University’s department of geography and resource management, said the report, which estimated that the number of marine traffic accidents would increase by one per year... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1935311/red-flag-raised-over-marine-safety-after-hong-kongs-third?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1935311/red-flag-raised-over-marine-safety-after-hong-kongs-third?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Apr 2016 01:00:30 +0000 In February this year, the Town Planning Board completed its review of the draft outline zoning plan supporting a three-runway system at Hong Kong International Airport and agreed to submit it to the Chief Executive in Council for approval. This will pave the way for the implementation of the three-runway system which is essential to meet our long-term air traffic demand. Many opinions were heard during the board review meetings, some of which were misconceptions that have unfortunately... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1934646/criticism-hong-kongs-proposed-third-runway-should-be-based?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1934646/criticism-hong-kongs-proposed-third-runway-should-be-based?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Apr 2016 03:01:15 +0000 Willie Walsh, chief executive of International Airlines Group (IAG) and a staunch opponent of London Heathrow airport’s proposed third runway, said Hong Kong’s third runway should not be pre-funded. The boss of the parent group of British Airways told the South China Morning Post in an interview in Hong Kong on Thursday that there is “an overwhelming case” for Hong Kong to have a third runway, but added, “I don’t agree with pre-funding.” Airline companies have been urging the Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1934553/iag-boss-fires-salvo-pre-funding-hong-kongs-third-runway?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1934553/iag-boss-fires-salvo-pre-funding-hong-kongs-third-runway?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Apr 2016 13:15:30 +0000