CONTROVERSY IS mounting over the level of user charges proposed for Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok (CLK) Airport, with airlines and the tourism lobby arguing that the rise in fees would damage competitiveness.
The concerns surfaced in the Hong Kong Legislature's 1997/8 budget debate, with concerns voiced over the likely impact on tourism, especially following the colony's hand-over to China at the end of June.
The airport authority has replied swiftly, arguing that, although the charges will be nearly double those at Kai Tak, the level will still keep the airport in the middle of the world ranking.
The charges being proposed for a Boeing 747-400 are around $8,500 per visit, which the authority says would put the airport close to hubs such as London Heathrow and Taipei, staying below the top of the league which is led by Japan's new Kansai Airport, with fees above $15,000. Charges for a Boeing 737-300 are around $2,000 at CLK.
These compare with charges of only about $4,000 for a 747 and just over $1,000 for a 737 at Kai Tak, although the authority points out that the new airport is offering "new commercial opportunities" and 24h operations. Richard Siegel, director of civil aviation at the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (CAD), says that it is "hardly realistic to pay the same landing fees" at a new HK$47 billion ($6 billion) airport as at Kai Tak, with its overcrowding, deteriorating services and night curfew.
Airline operators remain bitterly opposed to the proposed charges, with the Orient Airlines Association (OAA) claiming that all of its members will have to "re-evaluate" current and planned services to Hong Kong. The OAA criticises the airport's authority's analysis of costs, claiming that in real terms, CLK would become the world's third most expensive airport.
Its figures, for a 747-400 with 280 passengers on a 4h turnaround, show CLK at $8,500, behind only Kansai and Tokyo airports, with most of the world's major hubs in the $2,000-6,000 bracket.
The airport authority points out that it needs to raise HK$4 billion in aeronautical charges to help repay borrowings of HK$11.5 billion, which must be settled by 2001 under the financing agreement signed with China.
The authority is also committed to providing a 5% real rate of return for the Hong Kong Government on the HK$36 billion it has invested in CLK. Airlines complain that these calculations are also biased, failing to take into account the potential HK$300 million which the Government could expect to gain for the redevelopment of land at Kai Tak, while also arguing that the projected income levels are being based on a conservative forecast of a modest 5%annual traffic growth at the new airport. Growth has been averaging 10%for decades and latest airline industry forecasts suggest continued expansion of around 8% a year.
Discussions are still taking place between the airport authority and the main airline operators within the User Charge Board, with another meeting pencilled in for the end of this month, but the CAD warns that this is "a process of consultation, not negotiation".
The user-charge proposals will then have to clear a series of legislative hurdles, including approval by the CAD and the Government's Economic Services Branch. There is no firm timetable, but charging levels must be in place six months before the airport opening, now scheduled for early 1998.
Source: Flight International
