The
consultancy study was conducted to identify a suitable location for the new airport. In all, thirteen sites were considered, covering every corner of the territory. study concluded that the most appropriate site would be
Chek Lap Kok. The suitability of Chek Lap Kok was confirmed
by a feasibility study carried out in 1979-80, followed by a
masterplan study in 1982. Plans to begin construction were
well advanced; but in 1983 the project was shelved, because of uncertainties arising from the world recession of that time, during which civil aviation traffic contracted for the first time in history.
4. Within a few years, however, air transport began to expand once again: by 1986, the volume of passengers at Kai Tak was growing very rapidly (by 19% in 1987, and by 20%
in 1988).
It was thus becoming patently clear that Hong Kong would need a replacement airport very soon. In April 1988, the Financial Secretary requested a new study to review the 1982 Chek Lap Kok masterplan as well
as a separate study to consider the feasibility of alternative sites. A comparison of aeronautical considerations, land development potential, road access infrastructure, environmental considerations, harbour and container port development potential and shipping lane requirements put the Chek Lap Kok site ahead of all the
other alternative sites.
5.
In the meantime, the Hong Kong Government had taken a number of steps to expand to the maximum extent the capacity of Kai Tak. In 1988 new passenger terminal capacity, capable of handling 24 million passengers per year, was completed. Further work was set in hand to increase the runway capacity and to improve access roads and aircraft parking bays. Such developments, together with improved demand management and air traffic control procedures, made it possible to extend the lifespan of Kai Tak to the mid
1990s. But they could not obviate the need for a new
airport.
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