Three groups have slammed the Airport Authority’s plan to construct a transfer terminal and a private bridge connecting Hong Kong International Airport with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. They say the desired effect could be achieved with another proposal for a tenth of the cost.
The proposed construction project, with an estimated price tag of HK$3 billion, is intended to allow travellers entering Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge to skip customs and enter the airport’s restricted area directly. It involves building a new five-storey terminal and a “private bridge” connecting the two locations.
Green Sense, Airport Development Concern Network and the Professional Commons said at a press conference on Wednesday that a similar proposal which requires no construction work would only require HK$300 million. They criticised the Airport Authority for proposing a “white elephant.”
Alternative plan
Citing official materials previously released by the authorities, the groups said that – during the planning stages – transport routes and entry points had already been planned for the port – passengers could easily be connected by coaches. A private bridge was “completely unnecessary,” they said.
Airport Development Concern Network spokesperson Michael Mo said that if the Airport Authority and the Immigration Department are able to coordinate with each other and the security of the coaches is strengthened, travellers could be transported from the port of the bridge to the restricted area at the airport’s SkyPier.
Professional Commons member Albert Lai said that this proposal, which utilises an existing public road rather than a new private bridge, will result in an extra travel time of one minute: “In terms of the time cost to the traveller, it is negligible.”
Green Sense spokesperson Roy Tam criticised the Airport Authority for wasting public resources, saying, “On the one hand the Airport Authority is collecting airport construction fees from travellers, and on the other hand it is [spending extravagantly] and engaging in unnecessary construction projects – it’s ridiculous.”
