260 Transport
workshops and a forum for logistics practitioners in small- and medium-sized enterprises.
With the support of the council, the Government continued to set up sites for port back-up and logistics uses in Hong Kong, particularly in the vicinity of container terminals.
On marketing and promotion, the Government led a logistics promotion delegation to Slovakia, Hungary and Estonia in April 2007 to inform those emerging markets about Hong Kong's strong position as a premium logistics hub.
Civil Aviation
Hong Kong is a major international and regional aviation centre. The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is one of the busiest in the world. At year-end, there were 85 airlines providing about 5 700 weekly services between Hong Kong and more than 155 cities worldwide. In addition, an average of about 84 charter flights. were made to and from HKIA each week.
Air Traffic in 2007
2007 was another record-breaking year for HKIA. A record 46.29 million passengers passed through the airport during the year, 7 per cent up on 2006. The number of flights to and from Hong Kong rose to 295 342, a rise of 5.3 per cent. Air cargo throughput also set new records: the airport handled 3.74 million tonnes of cargo, representing an increase of 4.5 per cent over 2006. In dollar terms they represented a jump of 11.5 per cent to 1 946 billion.
In 2007, HKIA ranked number one and number five worldwide in terms of international cargo and international passenger throughput respectively. The ranking was based on figures from the Airports Council International.
Air transport continues to play an important role in Hong Kong's external trade. Goods carried by air accounted for 38.5 per cent, 30.3 per cent and 31.4 per cent in value terms of Hong Kong's total imports, exports and re-exports respectively in 2007.
Home Market Expansion
As a leading international airport in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, HKIA has been serving not only Hong Kong's residents and guests, but also traveliers to and from the PRD region. In 2007, 3.4 million HKIA passengers used cross-boundary ferry, coach and limousine services at HKIA for connections between the PRD region and HKIA, up 13 per cent from last year. PRD-related traffic is a fast growing part of the HKIA's passenger traffic, thanks to the region's rapid economic growth.
In his Policy Address in October 2007, the Chief Executive announced that a study was being carried out on the feasibility and economic benefits of a direct rail link between HKIA and Shenzhen International Airport. The proposal is to foster closer cooperation between the two airports. Meanwhile, the Government has decided to build the Tuen Mun Western Bypass and the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link