HK Standard
Alice So
Thursday, March 01, 2012
There will be more parking spaces at Chek Lap Kok for the latest aircraft thanks to a HK$2.2 billion development project, the Airport Authority said.
The 16 stands to be completed within two years at the western end of the airport will take the total number to 161.
Deputy director Ng Chi-kee said the additional stands will feature on a 430,000-square-meter apron to be built on the site.
“The new stands will meet the need for parking spaces in the medium term,” Ng said yesterday.
“Three parking stands that can cater for new types of aircraft with longer fuselages, such as the B747-8F freighter, have also been planned.”
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A cross-runway tunnel will be commissioned linking the western apron to the cargo area, which was built during the construction of Hong Kong International Airport in the 1990s.
“We are seeing rising demand for aircraft parking spaces due to growing air traffic, continuous fleet expansions by airlines and the introduction of new types of aircraft,” Ng said.
“Currently, passenger and cargo throughput, as well as aircraft movements, have outstripped our baseline growth projections, with both passenger trips and flight movements setting new records in 2011.”
The development is believed to be crucial in meeting the expected growth in aircraft traffic, irrespective of the third planned runway entering operation.
The move comes as the Civil Aviation Department is raising the hourly handling capacity of the two existing runways from the current 62 flights per hour to 68 over the next three years.
Construction of the parking stands is set to start within the next few months and be in two phases.
By the end of next year, the first phase should be completed.
This will include the site for the first batch of nine parking stands, related support facilities and the western airfield tunnel linking the cargo area.
The remaining seven stands will be ready by 2014.