Page 38 - AAA JULY - SEPTEMBER 2019 Online Magazine

the world’s largest airport upon completion with tional aviation hub, the Airport Authority (AA) is expanding Hong
an annual capacity of more than 250 million Kong International Airport (HKIA) into a three-runway system
passengers. “The exact timelines and details of (3RS). On 26 April 2016, the Chief Executive-in-Council granted
next steps are not as yet finalised,” according the approval for the draft Chek Lap Kok Outline Zoning Plan, as
to the spokesperson. well as the authorisation of the reclamation under the Foreshore
and Sea-bed (Reclamations) Ordinance for the expansion of HKIA
Beijing Daxing International into a 3RS.
Airport
Beijing Daxing International Airport is expected The 3RS project is more than a new runway. Its scale is almost
to open by the end of September – handling equivalent to building a new airport next to the existing one. It
300 take-offs and landings an hour, with 45 mil- involves: Reclamation of approximately 650 hectares of land north
lion passengers by 2021 – and will eventual be of the existing airport island (equivalent to 34 Victoria Parks, or 100
the world’s busiest. Beijing Daxing International artificial islands for the New Wing of Hong Kong Convention and
Airport will be able to handle 45 million passen- Exhibition Centre). Non-dredge methods, including deep cement
gers by 2021, with plans for 72 million by 2025 mixing technique will be used for reclamation.
and 100 million by 2040 and its initial capacity Building the Third Runway Passenger Building with more than
will be 300 take-offs and landings an hour.
280,000 square metres of floor area, a total of 57 new park-
ing positions (frontal: 34, remote: 23) and an apron. Building a
The entire airport site takes up 47 square km 3,800-metre-long new runway and its supporting taxiway systems.
(18 square miles – more than half the size of The existing north runway will also be reconfigured. Building a
Hong Kong Island, while the main terminal takes 2,600-metre-long new Automated People Mover (APM) system
up 7.5 million square feet (695,000 square connecting Terminal 2 with the new passenger building. This new
metres), making it the largest in the world. It APM system travels at a top speed of 80km/h and would take 2.5
took only five years to build, at a cost of 80 minutes to travel from Terminal 2 to the new passenger building.
billion yuan (US$11 billion) – but with all the It can transport up to 10,800 passengers per hour. Building a new
associated costs – probably about 120 billion Baggage Handling System (BHS) linking Terminal 2 with the new
yuan. Testing began in May, with the first full- passenger building with a baggage transport speed of 7 to 10m/sec.
scale test in July, involving more than 6,000
people, including more than 1,000 pretend Expansion of the existing Terminal 2 to provide arrivals, departures
passengers.
and full-fledged passenger services. Construction of other associ-
ated airport support infrastructure, road network and transportation
The Civil Aviation Administration of China says facilities. Upon the completion of the 3RS, HKIA will be able to serve
the airport will generate 600,000 jobs. It also 30 million additional passengers annually as forecasted in the HKIA
means Beijing joins the select group of cities, Master Plan 2030. Airlines will collect the Airport Construction
including Tokyo, London, Paris and New York, Fee for the 3RS project from departing passengers on air tickets
that have two long-haul international airports. issued on or after 1 August 2016.
With plans for Daxing to become the biggest
airport in the world, a lot of foreign airlines will
end up basing their Beijing operations there. Changi East
The huge plot of land next to Changi Airport is turning into a new
Hong Kong International passenger terminal. The Changi East project is Singapore’s most
ambitious attempt since Changi Airport opened on July 1, 1981,
Airport (HKIA) Three-runway to cement Singapore’s status as a key aviation hub for regional
system (3RS) and global traffic. By the time construction and other works are
To meet future air traffic growth and maintain completed around 2030, Changi Airport will have almost doubled
Hong Kong’s competitiveness as an interna- in size to cover more than 2,000ha.

The project involves the construction of Terminal 5, which will have
an initial capacity of up to 50 million passengers a year - more
than twice the size of any of the other three main terminals. Works
also include the development of a three-runway system, which will
become operational in the early 2020s. This is to allow the airport
to handle a growing number of flights. Massive drains and tunnels,
some of which will move bags and people between T5 and the
current airport, are also being built.
The Changi East development, which is expected to cost tens
of billions of dollars, will prepare Changi Airport, which handled a
record number of 62.2 million passengers last year, for the coming
decades.

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