The Hong Kong Airport Core Program
The Hong Kong Airport Core Program
The Hong Kong Airport Core Program
The Hong Kong International / The Chep Lap Kok Airport Submitted to, Ms. Roshna Varghese RCBS Submitted by, Ebin Raju Varughese Elizabeth Mary Alexander MBA-B
Hong Kong International Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH) is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport (), being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport. The airport opened for commercial operations in 1998, replacing Kai Tak, and is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in Mainland China (with over 40 destinations) and the rest of Asia. Hong Kong International Airport has won eight Skytrax World Airport Awards for customer satisfaction in eleven years.[3][4] HKIA ranked second and third in 2009 and 2010 respectively for the Skytrax World Airport Awards, and has also won the Skytrax World Airport of the Year 2011. HKIA also operates one of the world's largest passenger terminal buildings (the largest when opened in 1998) and operates twenty-four hours a day. The airport is operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong and is the primary hub for Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Hong Kong Express Airways, Hong Kong Airlines and Air Hong Kong (cargo). The airport is also one of the AsianPacific cargo hubs for UPS Airlines.[1] It is a focus city for many airlines, including China Airlines and Air New Zealand,[5] and to a lesser extent Qantas and Virgin Atlantic, both of which use Hong Kong as a stopover point for flights on the Kangaroo Route between Australasia and Europe. Both United and Air India use Hong Kong as a stopover point for flights respectively from the United States to Singapore, Tokyo and Ho Chi Minh City as well as from India to Osaka and Seoul. In the near future, Garuda Indonesia is considering making Hong Kong their transit hub for flights to Europe while Swiss International Air Lines considers Hong Kong to be a major transfer hub for its network.[6][7] HKIA is an important contributor to the Hong Kong economy, employing approximately 60,000 workers. About 90 airlines operate flights from the airport to over 150 cities across the globe. In 2010 HKIA handled 50,348,960 passengers, making it the 11th busiest airport worldwide by passenger traffic.[8] It also surpassed Memphis International Airport to become the world's busiest airport by cargo traffic.[9] Chek Lap Kok Airport was designed as a replacement for the former Hong Kong International Airport (commonly known as Kai Tak Airport) originally built in 1925. Located in the densely built-up Kowloon City District with a single runway extending into Kowloon Bay, Kai Tak had only limited room for expansion to cope with steadily increasing air traffic. By the 1990s, Kai Tak had become one of the world's busiest airports it far exceeded its annual passenger and cargo design capacities, and one out of every three flights met delays, largely due to lack of space for aircraft, gates, and a second runway.[10] In addition, noise mitigation measures restricted nighttime flights, as severe noise pollution (exceeding 105 dB(A) in Kowloon City) was estimated to adversely affect at least 340,000 people.[11][12] A 1974 planning study by the Hong Kong Civil Aviation and Public Works department identified the small island of Chek Lap Kok, off Lantau Island, as a possible airport replacement site. Away from the congested city centre, flight paths would be routed over the South China Sea rather than populous urban areas, enabling efficient round-the-clock operation of multiple runways. Construction of the new airport, however, did not begin until 1991. The construction
period was very rushed; specialists considered only a 1020 year period was sufficient for this massive project. Another cause for this rush was due to the uncertain future of the airport construction after the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. It was originally believed that Beijing preferred to keep everything basically intact and minimise financial commitments for big projects, therefore stopping all construction despite the need for the new airport. At last, the airport did not finish in time for the Handover. However, China gave an additional year's grace period to finish the project. It was finished just in time.[13][14] Hong Kong International Airport was built on a large artificial island, formed by levelling Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau islands (3.02 km and 0.08 km respectively), and reclaiming 9.38 km of the adjacent seabed. The 12.48 km airport site added nearly 1% to Hong Kong's total surface area, connecting to the north side of Lantau Island near Tung Chung new town.[15] Construction of the new airport was only part of the Airport Core Programme, which also involved construction of new road and rail links to the airport, with associated bridges and tunnels, and major land reclamation projects on both Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon. The project is the most expensive airport project ever, according to Guinness World Records. Construction of the new airport was voted as one of the Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century at the ConExpo conference in 1999.[16] The sides of the terminals, predominantly glass, were designed to break during high speed winds, relieving pressure and allowing the terminal to withstand an intense typhoon.[13] Opened on 6 July 1998, a week later than the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport, it took six years and US$20 billion to build. On that day at 6:25 am, Cathay Pacific flight 889 was the first commercial flight to land at the airport, pipping the original CX292 from Rome which was the scheduled first arrival. The architects were Foster and Partners. However, on the first day of opening, the airport had already started to experience some technical difficulties. The flight information display system (FIDS) had suddenly shut down which caused long delays. Shortly afterwards, the cargo communication link with Kai Tak, where all the data was stored, went down. In the same period of time, someone had accidentally deleted a critical database for cargo services. This meant that cargo had to be manually stored. At one point, the airport had to turn away freight headed for and exported from Hong Kong (except food and medical supplies) while it sorted out the mess. HKIA simply could not keep up without an automated computer assisting.[13] For three to five months after its opening, it suffered various severe organisational, mechanical and technical problems that almost crippled the airport. Computer glitches were to blame for the crisis. Lau Kang-way, a Hong Kong politician, was quoted saying "This was meant to be a first-class project, but it has turned into a ninth-class airport and a disgrace. Our airport has become the laughing stock of the world.[17][18] At one time, the government reopened the cargo terminal at Kai Tak Airport to handle freight traffic because of a breakdown at the new cargo terminal, named Super Terminal One (ST1).[19] However, after six months the airport started to operate normally. Officially opened in June 2007, the second airport terminal, called T2, (check-in facility only) is linked with the MTR Airport Express on a new platform. The terminal also features a new shopping mall, SkyPlaza, providing a large variety of shops and restaurants, together with a few
entertainment facilities. T2 also houses a 36-bay coach station for buses to and from mainland China and 56 airline check-in counters, as well as customs and immigration facilities. Besides T2, the SkyCity Nine Eagles Golf Course has been opened in 2007 whereas the second airport hotel, the Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel; and a permanent cross-boundary ferry terminal, the SkyPier, began operations in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Development around T2 also includes the AsiaWorld-Expo which has started operation in late 2005.[20] A second passenger concourse, the North Satellite Concourse (NSC), opened in 2010. The Hong Kong Airport Core Programme (Chinese: ) was a series of infrastructure projects centred around the new Hong Kong International Airport during the early 1990s. The programme was part of the Port and Airport Development Strategy, commonly known as the Rose Garden Project. The cost for the whole project was estimated at over HK$200 billion, and the Chinese Government was concerned about its impact on the financial reserve of the future Hong Kong SAR Government. Several changes were made to the plan, including the shortening of the Tsing Ma Bridge and the constructing of the Airport Railway as a double-track railway. The project ended up costing HK$160.2 billion (160,200,000,000).[1] The Programme formally commenced after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between British Prime Minister John Major and Chinese Premier Li Peng in Beijing on 3 September 1991, and lasted 8 years in total. It was the biggest infrastructure programme in Hong Kong's history. There were plans to replace the old Kai Tak Airport after the Second World War. However due to financial and political reasons, the plan was abandoned in 1951 and the Hong Kong Government decided to expand the original airport instead.[2] With the growth of the economy of Hong Kong during the 1970s, the project was mentioned again. The Government earmarked Chek Lap Kok, just off the north coast of Lantau Island near Tung Chung, as the new airport's site. However, the plan was shelved in 1983 for economic reasons, as well as the question of Hong Kong's sovereignty and the impending signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.[2] The plan was announced on 11 October 1989 by the then Governor Wilson, and it was perceived to be part of the government's effort to reinstate confidence in Hong Kong after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The public was initially surprised by the huge budget and there were concerns that it would drain much of the public revenue.[3] The programme was completed with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok in July 1998.[
The Hong Kong International Airport is the centrepiece of this massive project; it provided the foundation for the other 9 core projects of the Airport Core Programme. Chek Lap Kok was selected as an optimal site due to its development potential. Construction finally started in 1992 and was planned to finish in mid-1997. Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, expressed his hope of leaving Hong Kong via the new airport after the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong. Sadly, this did not materialise. The airport finally come into operation on 6 July 1998, at a cost of around US$20 billion.[4]
The Tsing Yi section comprises the 500 m long Cheung Tsing Bridge, which crosses over Rambler Channel, and the 1.6 km Cheung Tsing Tunnel, which cuts through the high ground on Tsing Yi Island. This section is now known as the Cheung Tsing Highway.
Participating banks will receive a margin at 0.30% p.a., plus a management fee to be agreed. General syndication will commence as soon as sub-underwriting by the co-arrangers is completed, with a view to signing the credit agreement by 15 September 1997. The new facility will not be used for the opening phase of the new airport, known as Phase 1a, for which sufficient funding provision has been put in place as mentioned below. In January 1996, the Authority signed a credit agreement with 48 banks for a five year facility of HK$8,200 million (US$1,051.3 m) to finance the Phase 1a of the airport project. Loans drawn under the facility will be repaid in full by 30 September 2001. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Authority expects the facility will be sufficient for the Phase 1a, and draw down will commence in October this year. Separate arrangements for the Airport Authority's Note Issuance Programme have also been completed, subject to execution of the related legal documents. The Programme will have the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) as the Arranger and Agent. With this Programme, the Authority will be able to issue fixed or floating rate paper with a maturity of up to ten years. The announced HK$3,000 million syndicated credit facility and Note Issuance Programme will target different investors and provide complementary elements of Airport Authority's overall financing plan. (HONG KONG, 15 July 1997) -- The Airport Authority (AA) has mandated four institutions to arrange a three year revolving facility for an amount of HK$3,000 million (US$384.6 m). They are: China Development Finance Company (Hong Kong) Limited (for Bank of China, Hong Kong Branch), Tokyo-Mitsubishi International (HK) Limited (for The Bank of TokyoMitsubishi, Ltd.), Chase Manhattan Asia Limited (for The Chase Manhattan Bank), and HSBC Investment Bank Asia Limited (for The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited). Roles are distributed as follows: 1. Agent: The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. 2. Books: China Development Finance Company (Hong Kong) Limited and Chase Manhattan Asia Limited 3. Documentation: Chase Manhattan Asia Limited 4. Publicity and Signing: HSBC Investment Bank Asia Limited The facility is for general corporate purposes, including the financing of the second runway, the northwest concourse and new capital expenditure arising after the opening of the airport. Participating banks will receive a margin at 0.30% p.a., plus a management fee to be agreed. General syndication will commence as soon as sub-underwriting by the co-arrangers is completed, with a view to signing the credit agreement by 15 September 1997. The new facility will not be used for the opening phase of the new airport, known as Phase 1a, for which sufficient funding provision has been put in place as mentioned below. In January 1996, the Authority signed a credit agreement with 48 banks for a five year facility of HK$8,200 million (US$1,051.3 m) to finance the Phase 1a of the airport project. Loans drawn under the facility will be repaid in full by 30 September 2001. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Authority expects the facility will be sufficient for the Phase 1a, and draw down will commence in October this year. Separate arrangements for the Airport Authority's Note Issuance Programme have also been completed, subject to execution of the related legal documents. The Programme will have the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) as the Arranger and Agent. With this Programme, the Authority will be able to issue fixed or floating rate paper with a maturity of up to ten years. The announced HK$3,000 million syndicated credit facility and Note Issuance Programme will target different investors and provide complementary elements of Airport Authority's overall financing plan.
BECHTEL S R O L E
Bechtel, in a fully integrated team with the client, was responsible for overall multiproject development. Bechtel was retained to provide the
expertise and systems necessary to effectively integrate and orchestrate this multiproject program and create a strong matrix management organization with the client. Bechtel personnel and Hong Kong government staff were co-located in Hong Kong to oversee planning, design, and construction activities. Bechtel's role included: Master plan implementation Program controls (estimating, budgeting, baseline and annual forecasting, scheduling) Implementation of the management information system Overall program technical and financial review and recommendations Environmental impact mitigation program Coordination of wrap-up insurance program Contract administration/coordination and claims management Transfer of program management skills and techniques to government counterparts
ADDED VALUE
Bechtel's global perspective and resources, coupled with the client's local knowledge and capabilities, translated into a highly effective cost and schedule controls program that met the challenges of integrating the 10 major projects (7 of which were managed by Hong Kong government agencies, 2 by statutory corporations, and 1 by an independent franchisee). Bechtel helped NAPCO oversee the work of 170 contractors from 18 different nations. The work involved about 200 major contracts, more than 150 of which were active simultaneously, with 1,000 contractual interfaces. Because of its effectiveness, the controls program was adopted by the Hong Kong government as a basis for an overall public works management program. Benefits of the integrated program management system included: A common approach to cost and budget control across all projects led to significant efficiencies and flexibility for the management team enabling it to quickly shift emphasis from one project to another as work-flow demands changed Tight control/coordination of all elements allowed for early resolution of potential bottlenecks (such as community issues) Bechtel helped strengthen ACPs claims management/control by adopting a policy of lump-sum contract conditions with strict time limits applying to claims modification, time-barring provisions to control submittal of claims details, and a structured three-tier scheme for resolution of disputes, beginning with mandatory mediation. This improved process allowed a recovery of 5 months to the schedule on Tai Ho Utility Reserve, and avoided domino effects to the airport completion. Bechtel also recommended and led the development of an ownercontrolled insurance program resulting in the reduction of brokerage commission costs from $6.3 million to 2.7 million and improved services from brokers. The island of Hong Kong has changed drastically over 150 years when Lord Palmerston first voiced his skepticism over the potential of the large rock of an island. Since that time, Hong Kong has grown, so much so that Kai Tak, Hong Kong's current airport, has been operating at
capacity for years and increases in both passenger and cargo traffic are expected to have continuous, robust growth. Therefore, Hong Kong in order to sustain its current rate of economic growth an alternative site for an airport was created, literally. In 1991, the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) signed a Memorandum of Understanding recognizing the need for a new airport and requiring the Hong Kong Government to complete the new airport "to the maximum extent possible" by 30. June 1997. An Airport Authority was established in accordance with the MOU and under the authorization of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Airport Authority was also modeled after the government owned Mass Transit Railway Corporation, which is responsible for building the infrastructure needed for the Chek Lap Kok Airport. The Airport Authority began operating on 1. December 1996. Overseeing both the Airport Authority and the Mass Transit Railway Corporation is the Hong Kong Airport Core Program (Airport Core Program). The Airport Core Program projects include the new airport, the airport railway, five road projects, two major land reclaimations, and a new town. The Airport Core Program is being overseen by the New Airport Projects Co ordination Office (NAPCO). NAPCO has been a liaison between Government works departments and non-Government agencies to ensure that potential problems, such as logistics and budgeting, can be remedied in a efficient manner. The Government of Hong Kong has stated many of the benefits of the Airport Core Program. The main benefits to be seen for the community is an ease of congestion, improved road and rail facilities, and the airport itself. The closure of Kai Tak will also provide benefits for the 350,000 residents living under its flight path. The economic benefits are the creation of employment opportunities for local workers. 16,800 employment opportunities have been created during the construction period. It has been estimated that the new airport and the Airport Railway will create 6,000 new jobs. Other benefits include having a new airport located away from the urban area, the first road link between Lantau Island and Hong Kong, and the development of a new town. The Government of Hong Kong throughout this process has been conducting environmental impact assessment studies, and states that they have been an integral part to the
Airport Core Program planning and design. A couple of the measures that have been undertaken are the installation of noise barriers and enclosures, and window insulation to decrease noise exposure from construction sites. Another measure that has been employed is general housekeeping at the construction sites to keep dust to a minimum. The design of the island at Chek Lap Kok allows tidal water to flow between the sea and the coastline of North Lantau. This step has been taken to circulate water to the partially enclosed areas of water to the east. The design of the road and railway systems have also included land reclamation, however, this has been done at a greater expense to the environment. A substantial portion of the North Lantau coastline involves reclamation, except for the coastline that lies west of the Tung Chung. The Government of Hong Kong has taken several mitigation measures to keep the loss of wildlife and habitats at a minimum. Ecological studies of the local wetlands, seagrass beds, and mangrove communities were taken, resulting in the replanting of mangroves and woodlands and the relocation of a colony of Romer's Tree Frogs. The Environmental Protection Department is the government body responsible to ensure that environmental monitoring and audit programs are being conducted by the Airport Core Program. Traveling to Chek Lap Kok from Hong Kong has been carefully planned through the ten Airport Core Program projects. The first project that one would encounter leaving Hong Kong Island is the Central Reclamation. This project, which is largely completed, will be the site of the Airport's Railway terminus on Hong Kong Island and further develop the central business district. The Western Harbour Crossing, which has opened, will be a dual, three lane, immersed tube road tunnel. It will link the West Kowloon Expressway on the West Kowloon reclamation with a new section of elevated road in Hong Kong Island's Western District. This tunnel besides providing airport access, will serve to relieve some of the congestion at the two existing cross harbour tunnels. The West Kowloon Reclamation, which is largely completed, will provide housing for 91,000 people, commercial space, and much needed road and rail arteries. The West Kowloon Expressway, which has opened, will serve the developments on the West
Kowloon reclamation and ease traffic congestion on local expressways. It will run 4.2 kilometers from the northern portal of the Western Harbour Crossing to Lai Chi Kok. The Airport Railway will provide two distinct rail services. The Airport Express will be a fast passenger link to the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. The Lantau Line will be a domestic service which will serve to relieve the Tsuen Wan Line. The Tsing Yi sections of Route Three, one of the smaller projects, has been reengineered to relieve congestion. The Lantau Link will carry both road and railways connecting Tsing Yi to Ma Wan, and Ma Wan to Lantau. Its span of about 1.4 kilometers will make it the world's largest suspension bridge carrying both road and rail traffic. The North Lantau Expressway, which is completed, is a 12.5 kilometer, dual three lane highway linking the Lantau Fixed Crossing to Tung Chung new town. Tung Chung new town will eventually occupy two valleys at Tung Chung and Tai Ho on North
Lantau, in addition to a coastal strip of reclamation along the northern shore of Lantau IslandOnce you have passed through Tung Chung new town, you will have reached
the new airport at Chek Lap Kok. The Airport Core Program projects have been estimated to cost $158.2 billion (U.S. $20 billion) in money of the day according to the Government of Hong Kong. Environmental Problem TypeName: Romer's Tree Frogs Type: Animal/Amphibian Diversity: colony
issued in terminals one and two and in Kowloon Station to about 40,000 bags a day for 50 airlines. RFID luggage handling has been approved by the IATA (International Air Transport Association). Hong Kong Airport facilities Hong Kong International Airport is the fourth busiest in the world; it has seen an average of 750 aircraft take-offs and landings every day and carried over 48.6 million passengers in 2006. The cargo areas are some of the world's busiest and handled over 3.6 million tons in 2006.
"Hong Kong Airport has been one of the largest engineering and architectural projects in the world."
The shopping and leisure facilities include the airport's SkyMart with 160 shopping outlets and 40 restaurants spread over 39,000m. The facilities also include free and pay internet lounges, Wi-Fi access, many lounges and TV screens and a children's play area. The superior facilities have meant that the airport has been voted the world's best in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 (came first in Skytrax's world airport awards in 2007) and is consistently in the top-five list. The strategic location of HKIA makes it the preferred choice of global businesses; it links Hong Kong with more than 150 destinations, including 40 cities on the Chinese mainland. The elaborate and meticulously planned multi-modal transport network ensures smooth flow of movement between HKIA and the Chinese mainland. More than 90 PRD cities and towns are linked with HKIA by nearly 320 coach trips. Speedy cross-boundary arrangements are offered at Shenzhen Shekou and Fuyong, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Macau. At places like Fuyong, Shekou, Macau and Dongguan Humen passengers can even pre-check their baggage and obtain their boarding pass. Skytrax, an independent air transport research organisation, has ranked HKIA the top airport for eight consecutive years. The 60,000-strong airport community ensures the highest standards of aviation excellence and preserves Hong Kong's precedence as the leading regional and international aviation hub. HKIA access A new transportation corridor stretches 34km from Hong Kong Island to the site of the airport, incorporating a high-speed rail system, two tunnels, two bridges and a six-lane expressway. The SkyPier cross-boundary ferry service provides connectivity between the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and international destinations through the HKIA. Passengers using the ferry service need not go through Hong Kong immigration and customs formalities. Designed for the rapid movement of millions of passengers, the airport has 288 check-in counters, 200 immigration desks and 80 customs positions. The new airport also boasts 2.5km of moving walkways and around 120 shops. Negotiations between the Chinese government, the Chek Lap Kok government and (until the handover of the colony in 1997) the British government were complex. However, the main difficulties were resolved by the mid-1990s. Sky City The airport complex grew with the construction of a new development adjacent to the passenger terminal called Sky City. This consists of Sky Plaza an office, retail and business complex integrated with the passenger terminal (terminal two), which then links to the rest of Sky City. Sky City has the Asia-World Expo exhibition centre, a second hotel project (Marriot Hotel Sky City opened in December 2008), a nine-hole golf course and a permanent cross-boundary ferry terminal (Sky Pier). Phase two may well consist of a business park, more hotels, and further leisure and entertainment facilities.
The Sky City complex is expected to gain much business from the opening of the Disney theme park (opened in September 2006) as will the airport itself. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill is the architect, planner and engineer for the Sky City project.
"Designed for the rapid movement of passengers, the airport has 288 check-in counters."
In March 2008 the board of the Airport Authority of Hong Kong awarded a 20-year franchise to design, construct and operate a new 246,000m cargo terminal at the airport to Cathay Pacific Services Limited.
Construction of the new cargo terminal began in 2008. It was initially scheduled to open in the second half of 2011, but the completion has been deferred to mid 2013 as per Cathay's proposal. An announcement to this end was made by the aoard of the Hong Kong Airport Authority in January 2009. The facility will have an annual capacity of around 2.6 million tons and will increase the airport's total general cargo handling capacity to 7.4 million tons per annum. The new facility is being constructed on a 10ha site in the cargo terminal area and when open will employ 1,700 personnel. The number of general and express cargo operators at HKIA will then increase from three to four. Cathay Pacific's investment in the new facility will be of the order of HK$4.8bn. The cargo terminal will provide an exceptionally high land use efficiency of over 25t/m and will be equipped with a stateof-the-art materials handling system (MHS) to handle the massive throughput. Contracts The 1.3km-long passenger terminal was engineered and designed by Arup (UK). Their brief included providing conceptengineering / design and detailed design for the architectural steelwork and fire and acoustic engineering. The $1.29bn passenger terminal construction contract was awarded in the first quarter of 1995 to a consortium comprising the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, Kumagai Gumi, Maeda Corporation, Amec, International Construction and Balfour Beatty. Construction began in January 1995. The passenger terminal contract included sub-contracting work to fit the terminal with lifts, escalators, walkways, aircraft loading bridges and air-conditioning facilities. The subcontract for building services within the terminal (worth about $241m) was awarded to a joint venture of Hsin Chong Aster Building Services of Hong Kong, Aster Associate Termoimplanti of Italy and Ellis Mechanical Services of the UK. Subcontractors Two subcontracts were awarded by Hong Kong's Provisional Airport Authority (PAA). One, worth HK$96.58m, was given to Ryoden Lift and Escalator Co Ltd of Hong Kong. The other, worth HK$107.96m, was awarded to CNIM of France. A further HK$87m subcontract to build the toll plaza for the Lantau fixed crossing was awarded to Yau Lee Construction Co Ltd, a wholly owned construction unit of Yau Lee Holdings Ltd. Lindner KG of Arnstorf was awarded a contract in April 1995 for the HK$31 supply and erection of 160,000m of metal roofing for the terminal. Paul Y was awarded a HK$467.4m contract for the construction of roads and drainage works related to the airport in April 1995. Wenco constructed the airport's aviation fuel piping system for servicing 70 aircraft bays.
To guarantee HKIA's long-term competitiveness a HK$4.5bn enhancement programme has been brought into place. This includes extending the capacity of first terminal, airfield improvements such as the building of the north satellite concourse, reconfiguring the departures immigration hall, adding new taxiways and resurfacing the two runways. The new air cargo terminal under construction will create better aviation support services and more efficient air cargo handling facilities. The additional hangers being built will ensure quality aircraft and business jet maintenance. The burgeoning air traffic created the need for building a third runway at the airport, for which engineering and environmental feasibility studies are now being carried out. A new ferry route has been opened between airport and Nansha Port in Guangzhou. The new route improves connectivity between HKIA and Pearl River Delta (PRD). The airport is investing around HK$90m to add new automated people mover (APM) cars. A total of eight such cars will supplement the existing fleet of 20. By the end of 2009, the new cars will provide better connectivity between the permanent SkyPier, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and enhance the airport transportation to meet the future demand. Motorola has completed the installation of TETRA (terrestrial trunked radio) digital radio communication system at HKIA in February 2009. The airport authority awarded the contract to replace the existing analogue system with TETRA to Motorola in February 2008. Eight dispatch consoles and three IP base station sites were installed. These provide coverage all over the airport. The new system provides uninterrupted radio communications between the user groups involved in security, baggage, maintenance and other ground handling services.