Hong Kong Approves Third Runway
 

A third runway should help reduce congestion, though environmentalists are concerned

Hong Kong's Executive Council has approved "in principle" the construction of a third runway at its international airport.

The runway, which is expected to cost $17bn (£11bn), will be Hong Kong's most expensive project.

The airport is expected to operate at full capacity by 2020.

There have been fears of air traffic congestion, though the expansion plans have also faced opposition due to environmental concerns.

Authorities said they would take adequate measures to ensure proper procedures were followed while constructing the runway.

"We understand that airport development is crucial for maintaining Hong Kong's status as an international business centre," said transport and housing secretary Eva Cheng.

"What is also important is that infrastructure development must comply with current laws."

Growing demand
The Hong Kong airport is one of busiest in the world, with about 54 million passengers passing through every year. It is also the world's busiest air cargo hub.

Given its proximity to China, and growing demand for exports from the region, the cargo traffic is likely to continue growing for years yet.

Hong Kong has also becomes a key financial hub, which has seen many companies set up their regional offices in the city.

That has added to the growth in passenger numbers.

John Slosar, chief executive of Cathay Pacific, said that a third runway was "the only viable option to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong as an important international financial centre, trading and logistics hub, tourism destination and professional services capital".

The approval comes at time when Hong Kong has also been facing increasing competition from nearby airports in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Macau.

Environmental concerns
One of the biggest concerns over the construction of the third runway has been its impact on the environment.

This is because most of the space needed to construct the runway will have to be reclaimed from the sea.

According to some estimates, as much as 650 hectares (6.5 sq km) may need to be reclaimed to provide adequate space for the runway.

This has raised fears about how that may affect Chinese white dolphins, a protected species in Hong Kong, which gather at a marine park nearby.

There have also been worries the construction, and the subsequent increase in the number of flights coming into the airport, will increase pollution, which is already a big concern among residents.

Ms Cheng said the the authorities "must carefully study the issues of concern, such as marine ecology, noise and air quality".

"It is of vital importance that all possible measures to avoid or mitigate such impacts must be explored."

3rd runway=more aircraft=ATC skill required=bring loads of holding fuel.
However, since our days pay in lieu of helping to make 5.5 BILLION profit, I may just be karting lots of holding fuel all over the place!
:mad:

As someone earlier mentioned, it's a leap year, so they have effectively only paid us for a full years work....nothing extra. I do feel more comfortable with a 'safe' amount of fuel in the tanks though. :D

Ah Monkey man...........where should I start.......???
Thanks for the history lesson but I suspect you may have misunderstood my 'joining date'.:confused:
Your abject apology is accepted.:=

Cost of the original Airport $20bn - they'll write any old codswallop to sell a newspaper these days.....

Since "Slow Down Sally" seems to be on duty every day at all hours, I think that holding fuel is mandatory!

Blimey! A third runway will mean more air traffic, more pollution from the smoke belching jets ( no matter how clean Mr Boeing or Mr Airbus claims them to be ). Gee, starting leaving HKG guys soon, the pollution is gonna do you and your kids in.

How are we going to bring the traffic to land on the third runway (new runway 07L)? How much airspace do we have?
How are we going to handle go-around in particular of runway 25?

The whole thing is a waste of money by creating jobs. Why not build another airport in HK south.

Now all they need is for the PLA Air Force to 'approve' the opening up of the airspace.

And the competing airports in the Pearl River Delta will be behind the idea of HKIA having more airspace all the way...

Also I hear that the 3rd runway will become the new 2nd runway after the existing 2nd runway becomes the ex 2nd runway as soon as the replacement 2nd runway is complete...... as it's sinking? Confirmation anyone?

A bit of an exaggeration.

Once the third runway is completed the centre runway will be closed for about 2 years to allow for tunnels to be cut/shut and re-profiling both in terms of length and threshold height and the ILS relocated plus end wrap-around taxiways so runway crossing can be avoided.

Any other suggestions how they should do it?

MTCD, thanks for telling us you are clueless when it comes to airspace and procedure design.
Please stick to your day job.

I would imagine that for not much more money, they could build an entirely new 4 rwy airport south of HK that would be open before 2028. The third runway plan is throwing good money after bad. Ultimately, HK will wither and die because no one wanted to lose face over the fact that the original airport was built in the wrong place. What an epic and tragic farce.

Its fairly public knowledge that the schedule is for the 3rd runway to be completed in late 2021, a 2 year interim 2 runway operation on the outer 2 runways and all 3 runways operating in late 2023.
JRs have stalled that timeline a bit so its looking more like 2024, assuming it gets the final go ahead.


"....the original airport was built in the wrong place"


You won't get an argument from me there. What were they thinking???!!