Frank Chan Defends Zhuhai Airport Investment Plan

Transport Secretary Frank Chan on Thursday defended an Airport Authority's plan to inject equity into Zhuhai airport, saying it will reap benefits within a short period of time.

It's still unclear how much money is involved in the plan, but critics, such as outgoing Civic Party lawmaker and former pilot Jeremy Tam, have said Hong Kong may not benefit much from it.

While the HK$144 billion third runway system is expected to come into operation by 2024, boosting Hong Kong's flight-handling capacity, Chan pointed out that there will still be operational limits at Chek Lap Kok.

"For every established airport, the number of flights it can take, the time slots it has, always have a limit. The maximum number of hours an airport can operate is 24 hours. Until and unless you build an extra runway, an extra terminal and strengthen the connecting traffic to the airport, otherwise it won't change much," he said.

"By connecting simply with the Zhuhai airport, that could be realised in a rather short time, because all of the capacity, technology and opportunities are there, waiting for us to pick up."

At the moment, Hong Kong serves around 170 international destinations, whereas Zhuhai serves about 80 mainland destinations.

At a press conference, Chan also said thanks to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, it only takes slightly more than an hour to travel between Chek Lap Kok and Zhuhai airports.

He added a "bonded bridge" – to be built by the Hong Kong entrance of the mega bridge – will take cross-border passengers directly to the boarding gates without immigration checks, saving time.