4.
In the face of these signs of interest in the siting of the replacement airport in China on a joint- venture or other basis, the Hong Kong Government needs to determine its position on the question. Accordingly, the purpose of this Memorandum is to seek the advice of Honourable Members on the line to be adopted should further suggestions or overtures about the building of the airport in China be made directly or indirectly to the Government.
THE ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A REPLACEMENT AIRPORT
L
5.
The replacement airport's essential characteristics insofar as Hong Kong is concerned are that it should:
(a) have two runways with room for further
expansion;
(b). be capable of 24-hours-a-day operation
every day of the year?
(c) have good and speedy access to and
from central Hong Kong;
(a)
(e)
be capable of handling 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo a year when fully developed (based on estimates of demand in 1995); and
meet all international requirements as regards safety of operations.
POSSIBLE SITES NORTH OF THE BORDER
6.
No detailed studies are available on the
But on characteristics of land across the border. the basis of information available to the Civil Aviation Department, the most suitable site for an airport between Hong Kong and Canton, primarily from the viewpoint of aviation operations but also taking account of engineering and environmental considerations, would seem to be about half-way between the border and Canton near the Pearl River estuary. about 25 miles north of the border. is clearly inconsistent with the requirement for good and speedy access (paragraph 5(c) above).
This site is Such a distance
CONFIDENTIAL
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