Hong Kong's financial secretary said this week that feasibility and engineering studies on a third runway at Hong Kong International Airport would begin at the end of 2008, a move applauded by the territory's home carrier, Cathay Pacific.
"Hong Kong’s aviation hub is a key driver of the Hong Kong economy, and with HKIA already facing worrying levels of traffic congestion we need to look at how we can increase capacity in both the medium and longer term," said Tony Tyler, Cathay chief executive officer, in a statement. "Taken together with various other ongoing measures to increase capacity at HKIA, a third runway is a vital component in the equation, and it is good news that a feasibility study is about to begin. Cathay Pacific would be happy to be a part of this study, as I am sure would the airline industry as a whole. We have a big stake in the outcome."
HKIA is Asia's busiest air cargo hub, but that mantle is under threat from a number of burgeoning gateways, including Shanghai and Singapore. It handled 3.7 million tons of cargo in 2007.
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