Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") is connected to about 180 destinations, through over 1,000 daily flights by more than 100 airlines."%2015/english/panels/edev/papers/edev20150323cb4-650-6-e.pdf Background brief on the development of the Three-Runway System at the Hong Kong International Airport". Legco.gov.hk. Legislative Council. Retrieved 19 November 2016. Hong Kong is 5 hours away from half the world's population, so in order to meet future demand until 2030 and beyond, the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AAHK") proposed the expansion of HKIA into a three-runway system ("3RS") to support the two currently operated runways, through the introduction of Master Plan 2030 ("MP 2030") in 2011. Facing a projected increase in air traffic, the Airport Authority Hong Kong promulgated the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030 on 2 June 2011.Legislative Council, 2016, p. 1. Its main project aimed at expanding the current airport infrastructure to a Third-Runway System to maintain the position of Hong Kong International Airport as a leading international and regional aviation hub.Legislative Council, 2016, p. 2.
Project overview
The three-runway project involves seven core projects, namely: Construction of the Third Runway: The new runway (now in operation as the North Runway) will be long and wide, with its supporting taxiway systems, which is set to be parallel to and north of the existing two runways."Expanding Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-runway System ". threerunwaysystem.com. Airport Authority. Retrieved 19 November 2016. The third runway is expected to enlarge the maximum capacity of Air Traffic Movements ("ATMs") by 33 movements per hour or more."%20development-of-the-hong-kong-international-airport-20150317-e.pdf Information Note: Development of the Hong Kong International Airport". Legco.gov.hk. Research Office Legislative Council Commission. Retrieved 15 November 2016. Land Reclamation: Approximately of land to the north of the existing airport island will be acquired through land formation, about 40% on top of disused contaminated mud pits using deep cement mixing."Updates on the Three-Runway System Project at the Hong Kong International Airport". Legco.gov.hk. Legislative Council. Retrieved 19 November 2016. Construction of new passenger concourse and parking positions: A new passenger concourse with more than of floor area, with over 100 parking stands including 62 frontal and 43 remote stands and an apron will be built to support the new runway. Expansion of the existing Terminal 2 building: The expanded Terminal 2 and new concourse are targeted to serve an addition of 30 million passengers annually, providing arrivals, departures and full-fledged passenger services. Provision of a new Automated People Mover system: A new APM system with an integrated maintenance depot will be extended to connect Terminal 2 with the new passenger concourse. Operating at its top speed of per hour, the new system can transport up to 10,800 passengers per hour. Provision of a new Baggage Handling System: The new high-speed baggage system, which links Terminal 2 with the new passenger concourse, aims to transport the first baggage to the luggage belt upon 20 minutes of passengers' arrival and the last baggage within 40 minutes. It can transport bags at a rate up to 3 times faster than the system used today. Construction of comprehensive road network and transportation facilities: A multi-modal transport facility will be built to provide additional coach parking, taxis and limousines staging areas, pre-booked taxis pick-up area,"Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030 ". threerunwaysystem.com. Airport Authority Retrieved 19 November 2016. for connecting services between Hong Kong/Mainland and HKIA.
Timeline and project development The development of the 3RS include different stages of planning, approval and implementation."The Three-Runway System: A Three Phase Process". Hongkongairport.com. Hong Kong International Airport. Retrieved 19 November 2016. Research was done by AAHK from 2008 to 2010, where the MP 2030 was compiled and eventually published by the AAHK in June 2011."Milestones". Threerunwaysystem.com. Airport Authority Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 November 2016. The MP 2030 outlined the two-runway system and 3RS as options for future development, compared the two in terms of air connectivity, economic benefits, construction cost, funding and environmental issues, and concluded that only 3RS can fully meet Hong Kong's long-term needs.
A three-month public consultation exercise was then conducted, with the findings compiled by the University of Hong Kong's Social Sciences Research Centre being announced in December 2011. In short, the majority of the respondents see highly of the HKIA. 73% of the respondents preferred expanding into a 3RS,"Independent Compilation of Views and Reporting for HKIA Master Plan 2030 Public Consultation Exercise". Threerunwaysystem.com. Social Sciences Research Centre The University of Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 November 2016. and 83% agreed that HKIA should continue to be expanded to cope with the future air traffic demand. However, less than half of the respondents preferred 3RS after considering the environmental impact and construction cost in isolation. This consultation was condemned by Friends of the Earth and Airport Development Concern Network as being unfair and "fake" respectively.鄭, 漢良 (30 December 2011). "耗資千億加建第三條機場跑道香港勢在必行". rfi. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
In March 2012, the Executive Council ("ExCo"), in-principle and for planning purposes, approved the AAHK to adopt the 3RS as the future development direction for HKIA."行會通過第三條跑道 造價逾千三億". Oriental Daily. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2016. Subsequently, the AAHK commenced the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") studies which analysed the potential environmental impact of the project across 12 aspects such as noise and fisheries."Environmental Impact Assessment ". Threerunwaysystem.com. Airport Authority Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
An exhibition and public forums were held in 2013, and the EIA report was submitted to the Environmental Protection Department for consideration in April 2014. The report was then available for a one-month public inspection,"六問第三條跑道環評報告". Wwf.org.hk. World Wide Fund For Nature Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 November 2016. and was subsequently approved with the Environmental Permit granted by the Director of Environmental Protection on 7 November 2014. This was highly criticised by environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth for neglecting public and expert opinions."環保署漠視專業意見，批三跑環評 環評機制受破壞，淪橡皮圖章". Foe.org.hk. Friends of the Earth (HK). Retrieved 19 November 2016.
The ExCo further endorsed the expansion of the HKIA into a 3RS on 17 March 2015. The project is expected to cost HK$141.5 billion, with funding coming from bank loans, bonds issuance, HKIA's operational surplus and end-users. An Airport Construction Fee of HK$180 per departing passenger was proposed,"LCQ7: Financial arrangement of the three-runway system project at Hong Kong International Airport". Info.gov.hk. Retrieved 19 November 2016. but the AAHK subsequently lowered it, with 70% of departing passengers paying HK$90 or less as announced in September 2015. The funding principle of "Joint Contribution and User-pay" remained unchanged.
The endorsement of the ExCo sparked public outrage, as it left a lot of questions such as the use of airspace unanswered,Kao, Ernest; Ng, Joyce (18 March 2015). "Approval of third runway at Chek Lap Kok airport does not answer questions about airspace". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 November 2016. and this funding structure was said to have effectively bypassed the Legislative Council ("LegCo")"史上最貴 造價千四億 三跑上馬 舉債徵費籌資金 團體憂淪大白象". Apple Daily. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2016. because Government guarantee, allocation of funds and passing of resolution by the LegCo were not required. Members of Panel on Economic Development raised similar concerns, in which the Administration responded by saying that the AAHK was granted power under the Airport Authority Ordinance to make necessary financial arrangements for airport expansion and operation."Report of the Panel on Economic Development for submission to the Legislative Council". Legco.gov.hk. Legislative Council. Retrieved 19 November 2016. A "Subcommittee to Follow Up Issues Relating to the 3RS at the HKIA" was endorsed on 15 May 2015 upon the request of the Panel on Economic Development of LegCo.
The draft Chek Lap Kok Outline Zoning Plan was approved and the reclamation was authorised by the Chief Executive-in-Council on 26 April 2016. This was once again disapproved by Green Sense for ignoring the ecological, noise and airspace problems."機場三跑填海工程 獲行會批准通過". Sing Tao Daily. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016. The construction of the 3RS and the collection of the Airport Construction Fee started on 1 August 2016,"為興建第三條跑道融資 機管局下周一起徵收機場建設費". RTHK. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016. and was expected to complete by 2023.
The third runway, known as the North Runway, was opened in July 2022. The third runway is 650 hectares in land area, roughly the size of Gibraltar. The Centre Runway and Terminal 2 of the airport were then closed to facilitate construction works, expansion and upgrades. The Center Runway was reopened on the 28th of November 2024. The T2 expansion is currently (2024) under construction.
Interaction between government and different stakeholders
Between AAHK and government and the public
AAHK has been taking a leading role in introducing the 3RS Project, with great emphasis on the urgency of the current problem regarding insufficiency of the existing 2RS in meeting rising future air traffic demand. It is claimed that, by 2016 or 2017, the existing 2RS will reach its maximum practical capacity of 68 ATMs per hour, or 420,000 ATMs per year. In face of the fierce competition from neighbouring airports who have been actively planning for their expansion projects, AAHK expected that the 3RS will be able to handle over 100 million passengers, nearly 9 million tonnes of cargo and 607,000 ATMs which would enable Hong Kong to maintain the competitive advantage as an aviation hub in attracting foreign businesses. It is estimated that by 2030 the 3RS would have generated HK $167 million, and will further bring economic benefits of $455 billion over 50 years.
The proposal has attracted widespread public opposition, and has aroused great concern on whether the infrastructure project which involved the highest cost since 1997 is justified by its alleged urgency and effectiveness. Nevertheless, despite public challenge over the enormous economic benefits as claimed, the government has attached great importance to the 3RS project and has largely agreed that there are strong justifications and urgency to proceed with the implementation."Legislative Council Brief Kong International Airport Three-Runway System". Legco.gov.hk. Legislative Council. Retrieved 19 November 2016. The Secretary for Transport and Housing Bureau Anthony Cheung has also publicly expressed the government view that such a project would be endorsed and recognized its potential economic contribution to Hong Kong's GDP.
Between government and green groups on environmental issues
The construction of 3RS requires reclamation which will in turn cause solid, water, noise and air pollution; obstruct the travelling corridor of Chinese White Dolphins ("CWD") given the reclaimed area is situated in the heart of the CWD hotspots; and affect CWD or other marine animal's habitat.Chan, T. (2015) "Ecological impacts of the third-runway system of the Hong Kong International Airport on Chinese white dolphins" Retrieved 18 October 2016.