Airports Hong Kong

Troubles for passengers at the new $20-billion Chek Lap Kok airport here are easing, but chaos at the cargo terminals continues. On Friday, Hong Kong's largest freight company extended until July 18 an embargo on shipments, while the government created a special team to investigate why the much-heralded airport has gone so wrong and who is responsible. The government estimates losses of $1 billion before problems are resolved.

Five months after the disastrous opening of Hong Kong's new $20-billion airport, its chief executive is stepping down, the Airport Authority said. The departure of Hank Townsend takes effect Monday, when his contract ends, according to airport spokesman Chris Donnolley. The move comes just days after Townsend testified that he could have been more forthcoming about potential problems at Chek Lap Kok Airport.

To get to Hong Kong's congested Kai Tak International Airport, it's best to approach from the west, take a right at Kowloon Tsai Park, and thread through the cluster of spindly high-rise apartments off Prince Edward Road. Then prepare for a tummy-floating touchdown, because these directions aren't for the cab driver--they're for the pilot.

In another setback for Hong Kong's new, multibillion-dollar airport, 12 people connected with the construction of its transportation network were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of bribery and corruption. Two shareholders, five engineers and five employees of subcontractors are accused of using substandard materials in the building of a station on the railway to the airport, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said.

China agreed Thursday to allow the construction of a major new airport in Hong Kong in exchange for winning a significant voice in the island colony's long-term financial affairs six years before regaining sovereignty from Britain on July 1, 1997. The deal--considered a political and financial coup for Beijing--ends more than 18 months of heated negotiations between China and Britain that had raised concerns about Hong Kong's future.

Dragon Air Flight 841 from Chongqing, China, was the final airplane to perform the famous white-knuckle landing here late Sunday night. Thousands of Hong Kong residents clustered on rooftops to watch the jet skim just overhead and touch down on a runway reclaimed from the sea. This morning, Hong Kong's new, $20-billion international airport replaced the 73-year-old, all-thrills, no-frills Kai Tak.

China will have a voice on various long-range issues affecting Hong Kong even before the colony's 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty, but Britain will have the final say until that time, British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd said here Saturday. "We intend to remain in full and effective control of decision-taking on the affairs of Hong Kong until 1997," Hurd said at a news conference. "We shall provide full information to China. That is reasonable and right.

Five months after the disastrous opening of Hong Kong's new $20-billion airport, its chief executive is stepping down, the Airport Authority said. The departure of Hank Townsend takes effect Monday, when his contract ends, according to airport spokesman Chris Donnolley. The move comes just days after Townsend testified that he could have been more forthcoming about potential problems at Chek Lap Kok Airport.

Airport Authority Ready to Complete Credit Facility: Airport Authority Hong Kong made the announcement about syndication of its $1.1-billion term and revolving credit facility. The authority is a government agency responsible for building an airport at Chek Lap Kok to open in 1998 and related infrastructure projects. Forty-eight international and local banks expressed interest, and the financing was oversubscribed.

China, Britain Near Accord on New Airport: The governments of the two nations, which are discussing funding for Hong Kong's new airport, could sign an accord as early as Friday, according to Chinese officials. The Sino-British Airport Committee, which must approve the funding agreement, will meet Friday morning to discuss financing of the $20-billion airport and railway link.

Troubles for passengers at the new $20-billion Chek Lap Kok airport here are easing, but chaos at the cargo terminals continues. On Friday, Hong Kong's largest freight company extended until July 18 an embargo on shipments, while the government created a special team to investigate why the much-heralded airport has gone so wrong and who is responsible. The government estimates losses of $1 billion before problems are resolved.

Just days after this metropolis' $20-billion airport opened, the fanfare has been forgotten. Instead, a combination of computer glitches, mechanical breakdowns and unprepared personnel has turned Chek Lap Kok, the world's most expensive airport, into the globe's biggest snag--for critical cargo traffic and travelers alike. Problems with air bridges have left passengers stranded in planes for hours.

Dragon Air Flight 841 from Chongqing, China, was the final airplane to perform the famous white-knuckle landing here late Sunday night. Thousands of Hong Kong residents clustered on rooftops to watch the jet skim just overhead and touch down on a runway reclaimed from the sea. This morning, Hong Kong's new, $20-billion international airport replaced the 73-year-old, all-thrills, no-frills Kai Tak.

Airport Authority Ready to Complete Credit Facility: Airport Authority Hong Kong made the announcement about syndication of its $1.1-billion term and revolving credit facility. The authority is a government agency responsible for building an airport at Chek Lap Kok to open in 1998 and related infrastructure projects. Forty-eight international and local banks expressed interest, and the financing was oversubscribed.

After years of wrangling, Britain and China on Friday signed a deal removing obstacles to financing Hong Kong's new airport, the world's largest civil aviation project of the 1990s. British officials, however, said the massive project will not be done before the colony returns to China on June 30, 1997. The agreement, exactly two years before Hong Kong's hand-over, is a sign that Anglo-Chinese ties are warming after three years of acrimony over political reforms.

Anyone who has flown into the airport here knows the gut-wrenching dogleg turn before landing, the plane skimming so close to crowded apartment blocks that passengers can almost see what the families inside are eating for dinner. More than one plane has overshot the single runway and gone skidding into Hong Kong's not-so-fragrant harbor. "It's like landing on an aircraft carrier," says former astronaut James Van Hoften. Van Hoften, now a vice president of San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp.

China, Britain Near Accord on New Airport: The governments of the two nations, which are discussing funding for Hong Kong's new airport, could sign an accord as early as Friday, according to Chinese officials. The Sino-British Airport Committee, which must approve the funding agreement, will meet Friday morning to discuss financing of the $20-billion airport and railway link.