WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1988
15
DECISION ON NEW AIRPORT NEXT YEAR
FOLLOWING A PERIOD OF RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH, HONG KONG HAS REACHED THE STAGE WHERE DECISIONS MUST BE TAKEN ON THE FUTURE OF ITS AIRPORT AND ON THE LOCATION OF A NEW GENERATION OF PORT FACILITIES.
THE GOVERNOR, SIR DAVID WILSON, SAID THIS IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY} WHEN OUTLINING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE
INFRASTRUCTURE.
DECISIONS WOULD ALSO HAVE TO BE TAKEN ON THE SUPPORTING ROAD NETWORKS AND TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WOULD BE REQUIRED BY AIRPORT AND PORT DEVELOPMENTS.
"THESE MAJOR ISSUES ARE BEING CONSIDERED IN A RANGE OF STUDIES GROUPED UNDER THE PORT AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY," SIR DAVID SAID. "THEY ARE DUE TO BE COMPLETED IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR.
THE GOVERNOR SAID THAT AN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL CENTRE SUCH AS HONG KONG MUST HAVE AN AIRPORT OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARD WITHIN ITS OWN BOUNDARIES.
KAI TAK WAS NOW THE SECOND BUSIEST IN ASIA: OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS HAD INCREASED BY ALMOST 40 PER CENT AND, IN THE SAME PERIOD, AIRCRAFT MOVEMENT AND FREIGHT TRAFFIC HAD EACH RISEN BY ABOUT 30 PER CENT.
RECENT STUDIES HAD SHOWN THAT, WITHOUT CONSTRAINTS, KAI WOULD REACH CAPACITY BEFORE THE END OF THE NEXT DECADE, AND IT BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT A NEW AIRPORT WOULD BE NEEDED.
TAK WAS
SIR DAVID DESCRIBED THIS AS A DECISION OF GREAT IMPORTANCE TO HONG KONG, INVOLVING THE QUESTION OF WHERE AND WHEN AN AIRPORT SHOULD BE BUILT, AND ALSO ENSURING THAT THE PROJECT WAS FINANCIALLY VIABLE.
1.
'BUILDING A NEW AIRPORT WOULD BE THE BIGGEST PROJECT EVER UNDERTAKEN IN HONG KONG, COSTING TENS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, HE SAID.
"IT WOULD REQUIRE MASSIVE INVESTMENT IN LAND FORMATION, ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS.
"WHEREVER IT WAS SITED, IT WOULD ATTRACT INDUSTRIAL AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT TO THE SAME AREA.
/SIR DAVID