COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
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displayed on the radar screen. The SSR significantly reduces the workload of the controllers and increases accordingly the capability of the air traffic system. It also helps to augment and reinforce the primary radar system in use at the airport.
Introduced at about the same time as the SSR was the automated flight informa- tion display system (FIDS), which also employs a computer at its nerve centre to provide up-to-the-moment flight information in the passenger terminal building. All information concerning incoming or outgoing flights is fed into the computer, processed and relayed as required to a number of strategically positioned display flapboards and TV monitors. The information on display includes the flight number, point of departure prior to Hong Kong, next destination, estimated and actual time of arrival or departure, and flight status-such as delays or diversions and the reasons. Details of up to 40 flights can be displayed simultaneously on each flapboard, and 36 on the TV monitors. Flight schedules for a whole season can be stored in the memory system and displayed as and when required. All details can be readily updated, and the computer is programmed to erase automatically any unwanted information.
To complement this information system, illuminated guidance signs are to be introduced to show passengers the way to the aircraft, transit lounge, customs, im- migration, baggage reclaim areas and other points.
Responsibility for the management and development of Hong Kong International Airport rests with the Civil Aviation Department. An extension to the passenger terminal_building is being constructed in order to overcome congestion caused by unforeseen numbers of passengers. The building was designed to handle only 2,200 travellers an hour and it now has to cope with more than 3,000 people an hour during peak periods. When the extension is completed in 1977, it will double the size of the terminal and will increase the passenger handling capacity to about 5,000 people an hour. Also included in the extension project is the construction of a platform upon which a multi-storey car park will be built at a later stage.
The strategic position of Hong Kong at the hub of the air route network of Southeast Asia makes the airport of considerable economic significance to the ter- ritory. Although it is one of the smallest international airports in the world-covering only 222 hectares-it is one of the busiest in Asia. It provides swift air links with the world's major centres of commerce, industry and tourism. More than 900 scheduled services are operated each week by about 30 international airlines. In addition, a significant number of non-scheduled passenger and freight charter flights are operated.
Shipping
The Kwai Chung container terminal was completed in 1976 after four years of use and continuous growth. Now having the capacity to handle up to the equivalent of 1.5 million 20-foot containers a year, the terminal ranks fourth in the world and second in Asia. There are six berths totalling more than 6,000 feet giving onto about 150 acres of cargo handling space, which includes container yards and container freight stations. Up to six 'third-generation' containerships can be simultaneously accom- modated and worked at these berths, all of which are operated by private companies or consortia.