Hong Kong completes third runway

This project took five years to complete.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive Carrie Lam officiated the ceremony marking the completion of runway pavement works for the new Third Runway, a major milestone of the Three-runway System (3RS) project at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

“3RS is an integral part of our vision to transform from a ‘city airport’ into an ‘Airport City’. According to an earlier forecast, 3RS would generate direct, indirect, and induced contributions of about 5% of the gross domestic product of Hong Kong by 2030. It demonstrates that 3RS would inject impetus to HKIA, as well as the overall Hong Kong economy in the future. Leveraging the advantages of HKIA’s unique geographical location and its excellent service, I believe Hong Kong’s aviation industry will certainly seize the opportunities arising from various new infrastructures in the city and the significant synergy generated by the integration of the airport’s core functions and related developments,” Lam said in a speech.

The project, which started in 2016, entails the formation of 650 hectares of land by reclamation.

According to the Airport Authority Hong Kong’s chairman, Jack So, with the completion of the reclamation and runway pavement works, they are confident that the new runway will commence operations next year as planned whilst other works including expansion of Terminal 2 (T2), construction of T2 Concourse, a new automated people mover system and high-speed baggage handling system will be completed in 2024 on schedule and within budget.

The third runway is expected to start operations in 2022.