TNAG-0962-FCO40-1181-Possible-new-airport-for-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 50

CONFIDENTIAL #

A proposal that Hong Kong's replacement

airport should be sited in China

Introduction

The latest forecasts indicate that

air traffic, if not constrained, will reach

the capacity of Kai Tak International Airport

during certain hours of the day in 1984 or

1985.

2.

Kai Tak has only one runway. The

approach from the North West is over densely

populated Kowloon. For environmental reasons,

it cannot be used at night. In these

circumstances, there is little scope for

'

expanding its capacity and none for expanding

it in a way that will meet the demand likely

in the 1990's.

1990s

A replacement airport

3.

No final decision has yet been taken

on whether Hong Kong should replace Kai Tak

with an airport on another site. But planning

has been proceeding for a number of years. The

intention is to come to a decision at the

end of 1982 and, if the decision is in the

affirmative, to let contracts for the first stages

of the engineering work immediately thereafter.

G.F. 326

CONFIDENTIAL #≈

/......