Hong Kong's Airport Authority (AA) remains confident that the new airport at Chep Lap Kok will open as planned in April 1998, despite concern that the new airport express railway line and cargo-handling centre may not meet this schedule.
With 12 months remaining before the $6.38 billion airport is due to open to traffic, the first of two 3,800m (12,460ft)-long runways is complete, and work is progressing on fitting out the main passenger terminal. "We're on target to open in April," claims Airport Authority corporate development director Clinton Leeks, who adds that "-physical construction is on target and we're about three-quarters complete in terms of AA facilities".
There is concern among airlines that the airport's opening may be late, however, with the rail link not due for completion before June 1998. The airport is sited 25km (13.5nm) to the west of Hong Kong's central business district, and the railway is considered essential for moving large numbers of people to the airport.
Opening without the railway "-is highly undesirable, but not impossible", says Leeks. The Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway authority is to review progress later in the year to see if work can be "-accelerated to match our opening date in April", he adds.
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals will not fully complete its $1 billion cargo centre at the airport until 18 August. As an interim step, the Authority is hoping to have 50% of the new terminal's 2.6 million tonne annual handling capacity on line by April. "This is a critical path to airport opening, we clearly need sufficient cargo capacity to be able to open," says Leeks.
The Civil Aviation Department (CAD), in the meantime, is planning to have the airport's air-traffic-control equipment operational by August to begin training. The $103 million system includes new Raytheon primary and secondary surveillance radars, flight and radar data processors, a Thomson-CSF instrument-landing system and a simulator.
CAD director Richard Siegel says that the airport will initially handle 35 aircraft movements an hour, rising to 50 in dependent segregated mode with the completion of the second runway in late 1998. With a precision runway monitor, for which suppliers are now bidding, movement rates will increase to 63 an hour in mixed mode.
Source: Flight International
