HONG KONG - Hong Kong has approved the
construction of a HK$136 billion (S$22.1 billion) third runway at the city's
international airport, it said on Tuesday, as it tries to cement its position
as a global flight hub.
Airport
Authority Hong Kong, operator of the world's busiest cargo airport, says it
needs a third runway to keep pace with the rapid growth in air traffic. The
airport's two existing runways are forecast to reach capacity by 2020.
"The
executive council has approved in principal the airport authority's
recommendation to adopt the three-runway system as the future development
option for its next stage of planning," Secretary for Transport and
Housing Eva Cheng said.
The
government-owned airport authority is now clear to start work on detailed
design, financing, and an environment impact assessment, tasks which are
expected to take about two years, she said.
Hong
Kong overtook Memphis in 2010 as the world's busiest air cargo hub as a result
of strong import and export growth in China, especially the Pearl River Delta
region. The airport ranked third worldwide in terms of international passenger
flows in 2010, behind London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
A
public survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong last year said 73 per
cent of respondents favoured a third runway, but also showed concern that
environmental impacts had not been fully addressed.
The
third runway, on which construction was expected to start in 2014 at the
earliest, Cheng said, and will take about eight years to build.
Reuters
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