In addition to the three main options described above (a replacement airport in Hong Kong, a joint airport on the border and an overflow airport in Shenzhen) two other scenarios have been considered and rejected. They are
--
(a) The development of Sek Kong as an overflow
airport
(b)
small
Any minor relief provided by Sek Kong airfield for local private flying, for the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force or even for
international
commercial short-haul services would be very limited and short-lived. In any case the resumption of the air-strip and surrounding land, the provision of the necessary transport infrastructure and the development of airport facilities would be considerable cost and only for limited benefit.
at
a
Hong Kong to give up Kai Tak and rely on a replacement airport in Guangdong
This scenario is rejected as an option because it would mean that Hong Kong's air traffic rights
rights now enshrined in the Joint Declaration would totally disappear and international air links would be outside Hong Kong's control. Moreover the existence of Hong Kong's airlines and support industries would be seriously prejudiced. The most serious objection, however, is that it would remove the ability to travel directly from Hong Kong to foreign countries by air.
Overall Assessment
26
Option 2 (a joint airport on the border) and Option 3 (an overflow airport in Shenzhen) require varying degrees of cooperation with China and have not, at this stage, been the subject of any feasibility studies, technical
or financial. Only one (Chek Lap Kok) of the three of
three of the possible sites included in Option 1 (a replacement airport in Hong Kong) has been investigated. This option would also require Chinese agreement if the replacement airport was to be located in Deep Bay. However with the exception of the proposed in-house reassessment of the 1982 preliminary investigation of the feasibility of locating an operationally acceptable airport in Deep Bay it
Bay it would
would appear
appear premature to proceed with further