Airport Master Plan Consultation concludes today over 29,000 responses received

The SSRC is a third-party research institute appointed by AAHK to independently collect, compile and analyse all the views regarding the Master Plan expressed in the media, various engagement meetings, questionnaires filled out by the public and written submissions received during the consultation period. It will submit a report to AAHK in October.

Dr Marvin Cheung Kin-tung, Chairman of AAHK, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the public for their valuable opinions. "The consultation is part of a long planning process, and through it we seek to consult stakeholders and members of the public on HKIA's future development direction. This is a crucial step for formulating the airport's long-term development plan.

"After studying the SSRC's report, we will submit our recommendations on the airport's development direction to the government. We aim to do this before the end of this year. Our recommendations will take into consideration the results of this consultation, which we believe reflects the full spectrum of views of our stakeholders and the general public. Whatever development direction is taken, AAHK will continue to do its best to serve the people of Hong Kong," added Dr Cheung.

During the consultation, AAHK organised, co-organised and attended nearly 200 seminars, forums, meetings and briefings to engage the public and stakeholders. These included a large-scale business partner seminar; three open forums for all members of the public; three roundtables and eight one-on-one meetings with green groups; numerous rounds of residents' meetings; and briefings for representatives of the fishing industry and various professional bodies. AAHK also attended meetings of the Legislative Council and the 18 District Councils, and it commissioned three organisations, InnoFoco, Powersoft Consulting and 30SGroup, to help collate views from youth through various channels.

In addition, the four Master Plan exhibitions, held at the airport and three downtown locations, attracted about 25,000 visitors. The Master Plan website and online videos recorded a total hit rate of around 180,000.

The Master Plan puts forward two airport development options for consultation. Option 1 is to maintain the existing dual-runway system but to continue enhancing the terminal and airfield facilities, which would help HKIA meet growth demand up to about 2020. Option 2 is to expand to a three-runway system that would give the airport sufficient capacity to cope with the expected traffic growth up to 2030 and possibly beyond.

"Over the past three months, we have received a lot of helpful feedback, comments and suggestions. They are all valuable to us, and we will consider all of them carefully. We are grateful to all those who participated in our public consultation exercise or expressed their views through various channels," Stanley Hui Hon-chung, Chief Executive Officer of AAHK, said.

"In particular, we are well aware of the concerns over what it could mean for our environment if Option 2 is taken and we expand to a three-runway system. These are valid concerns. The opinions and advice from green groups and other stakeholders will be considered carefully and thoroughly," Mr Hui added.