The Pearl River Delta Region, with a population of some 120 million, encompasses the province of Guangdong (Canton) in southern China as well as the territories of Hong Kong, Macau and the cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, two cities with special status. In 2012, with a population representing only 4.2 % of China's total population and only 0.6% of Chinese territory, the Pearl River Delta Region alone generated 9.2% of China's GDP, contributing 26.7% to the country's exports and attracting 19.5% of all direct investment. GDP per capita is 219.6% compared with the Chinese average.
This economic strength explains why Hong Kong International Airport is so important to the region's development. In 2014, the hub, which is the main base for the powerful airline Cathay Pacific, handled 63.36 million passengers, up 5.8% on 2013. This compares with 54.77 million passengers at Guangzhou airport (+4.2%), 36.27 million at Shenzhen (+12.4%) and 5.48 million at Macau (+9%).
However, Hong Kong airport suffers from congestion with its two runways. The airport can handle 68 aircraft movements per hour. Currently, the airport's two runways have to handle 66 aircraft movements per hour at peak times. This represented 391,000 movements in 2014. According to the airport authority's forecasts, the hub will reach saturation point in 2016 or 2017. The construction of a third runway is therefore an absolute priority if Hong Kong wants to retain its status as a global hub. With a third runway, Hong Kong would be able to handle more than 100 million passengers a year and 607,000 aircraft movements by 2030. Hong Kong already has one of the highest percentages of wide-body aircraft in its business (63%), a figure surpassed only by Tokyo Narita. In other words, there is little room for manoeuvre to accommodate more passengers.
The future third runway, for which the green light was given on 17 March, will be built from 2016. As 650 hectares of land will have to be reclaimed from the sea, its construction will take seven years, with entry into service scheduled for 2023. It will then be able to handle 102 aircraft movements per hour. But the project is not without its critics, not least because of the exorbitant cost of the expansion, estimated at €18 billion (HK$141.5 billion). And since the airport authority has promised not to ask for public funds, it will be the passenger who will foot the bill. Instead of HK$ 120, airlines will have to pay an airport tax of HK$ 300 per departing passenger from April 2016. According to the airport, this is only temporary. But the provisional often has a hard life...
