ENG-1960 — Page 282

COMMUNICATIONS

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of the large number of passengers and quantities of baggage and freight carried by modern aircraft. In the meantime a converted freight building serves as a temporary terminal.

The cost of constructing the new airport, which is estimated to be at least $140,000,000 (£8,750,000), is being borne by local funds assisted by an interest-free loan of £3,000,000 from the United Kingdom Government. The Consulting Engineers, Messrs Scott & Wilson, Kirkpatrick & Partners, working under the general direction of the Director of Public Works, supervise all the con- structional planning and work at the airport, and the Director of Civil Aviation co-ordinates operational requirements. An Airport Progress Committee under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Economic Secretary reviews the overall planning and expenditure. The Director of Civil Aviation and a small number of specialist officers, who supervise all aspects of civil aviation and co-ordinate plans for its development in the Colony, are responsible for the administration and operation of the Airport. With a total staff of 374 officers, of whom 349 are locally recruited, the Department provides full operational services including air traffic control, telecommunications, air-sea rescue, an Airport Fire Service, aero- nautical information, aircraft registration and certification of airworthiness and, in conjunction with the Royal Observatory, an aeronautical meteorological information service.

Comprehensive facilities are available at the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co Ltd's depot at the airport for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft, and engines, including the most modern types, and primary flying instruction and training in aeronautical engineering and electronics are provided by the Far East Flying Training School.

All air services to Hong Kong Airport are on international routes. Sixteen airlines operate air services at present, connecting Hong Kong with the principal world air routes at a frequency of some 220 flights to and from Hong Kong each week. One of these is a locally based airline, Cathay Pacific Airways, which began operations in 1946 with Douglas DC-3 aircraft, and now operates a fleet of Douglas DC-3, DC-4, DC-6, DCB and Lockheed Electras on a wide network of routes extending to India, Japan, the Philippines and Australia. A number of airlines now operate pure jet aircraft to Hong Kong, and the Comet IV, Boeing 707,