“We are adding capacity and functionality, strengthening our cargo leadership, and also making this a landmark for tourism and travellers,” says Vivian Cheung, executive director of airport operations for Airport Authority Hong Kong.

In addition to the third runway, set to launch operations next year, the development work will include a new concourse and an expansion of Terminal 2, to be completed in 2024. There is also a 10-year road map for transforming HKIA into an autonomous operation.

That will see the introduction of cutting-edge features such as artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, facial recognition systems and automatic baggage handling systems. HKIA will become one of the few airports with full 5G coverage, bringing ultra-high-speed connectivity to passengers as well as to workers and operators on-site.

There are also plans to introduce an autonomous vehicle system that will eventually link Airport City to the nearby Tung Chung town centre and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Boundary Crossing Facilities.

‘Nexus of the Greater Bay Area’

The ambitions behind all these plans extend beyond the airport and even the city itself.

“We think that Hong Kong International Airport is not just the airport,” Cheung says. “It’s a very important economic engine for Hong Kong and for the Greater Bay Area.”

The development of the GBA, which includes strengthening exchanges between Hong Kong and mainland China, is a key component of the central government’s 14th five-year plan.

With HKIA facing competition from four other airports in the region – Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, Macau International Airport and Zhuhai Jinwan Airport – as well as a new one under construction in Foshan, Cheung says the biggest challenge is not competing for market demand, but rather increasing capacity.

“The market growth potential is huge,” Cheung says. “What we do here is to ensure that we can continue to have enough capacity to serve the market. We upgrade ourselves with technology, and our service with our innovations, to make sure people still like to use our airport.”

Included in the development plans are a new bridge connecting the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Boundary Crossing Facilities to the airport, plus “Park and Fly” and “Park and Visit”, two automated car parks aimed at encouraging more air passengers and visitors from the mainland, particularly the GBA.

Improved connectivity at HKIA will help reinforce the city’s status as a prime hub for both local and international businesses. “I think Hong Kong is the key nexus in the whole GBA environment,” says Chee Choong Ng, senior vice-president and managing director of DHL Express Hong Kong and Macau.

DHL is one of the biggest cargo services operating at HKIA, and continues to build upon its commitment to Hong Kong as a logistics hub. The international logistics company already operates its largest service centre worldwide (by shipping volume handled) in the Tsing Yi area, and it is also expanding its Central Asia Hub at HKIA. That hub is DHL’s largest infrastructural investment in the Asia-Pacific region to date, with a total commitment of HK$4.5 billion (US$577.1 million).

“[It] is going to be very exciting, because not only will this brick-and-mortar investment bring in the extra cargo, but we’re also mounting extra flights,” Ng says.

A new centre for events, office space, retail and entertainment

Beyond serving as a transportation hub, a primary goal of the Airport City project is to create a destination to be visited in its own right.

The centrepiece of this concept is 11 Skies, a mixed-use development for business, shopping, dining and entertainment that will open in phases from 2022. It will start with 570,000 square feet of office space dedicated to wealth management, wellness and medical services, as well as companies seeking to establish a foothold in the GBA.

“Consider, if you look around the world, where will you have two ports of entry? One way, we are seamlessly connected to Hong Kong International Airport. The other way, we are seamlessly connected to the Greater Bay Area,” says Larry Leung, vice-president of operations at K11 Concepts Limited, part of 11 Skies developer New World Development.

By providing office space, Airport City will be able to tap into the growing demand for financial and health care services in the region so that it can become an attractive point of entry for international businesses eyeing the potential of the GBA market and its 86 million consumers.

“To us, it’s very loud and clear that Hong Kong should be the hub of professional services,” Leung says.

Once it is fully open, 11 Skies will be Hong Kong’s biggest “retailtainment” complex, with 2.66 million square feet of space housing over 800 retail and dining outlets plus 570,000 square feet for the city’s largest indoor entertainment hub.

This entertainment space will be home to signature attractions such as the first KidZania educational play park to be located in China, and SkyTrack, which will be the world’s longest indoor-outdoor karting track.

“We want to make it a destination so that people will … come here to shop, to enjoy themselves, to get some entertainment. That will be the new definition of Airport City,” Leung says.

The unique mix of offerings at 11 Skies will “make the Hong Kong airport be competitive enough, and be the first choice of GBA travellers”, he adds.

Meanwhile, adjacent to HKIA, the second phase of development for AsiaWorld-Expo will create a 20,000-seat performance venue and expand the exhibition space to 100,000 square metres (1.08 million square feet). New hotels are also planned.

Sustainability attracts partners, workers

Sustainability is high on the agenda for Airport City – not just regarding the environment, but also in terms of attracting and retaining workers. Job opportunities are expected to expand as HKIA grows.

“We think that there will be over 123,000 staff at the airport, and there will also be more than 160,000 indirect workers,” Cheung says.

To help support and nurture local talent, a new campus for the aviation academy and a dormitory will be built. There will also be improved communal staff facilities such as a fitness centre and sports hall.

On the environmental front, HKIA is working with various partners to implement sustainable operations. It is one of the first airports in the world to appeal to all operators on the ground to use electric cars rather than petrol-powered vehicles.

In addition, the Terminal 2 expansion and the T2 concourse have achieved the highest rating under BEAM Plus, Hong Kong’s green building assessment and certification scheme.

DHL is supporting this eco-conscious vision. “We have committed to a zero-carbon-emissions target by 2050; by 2025, 50 per cent reduction,” Ng says. “In the future, all our warehouses should be carbon-neutral.”

Experts predict that global air traffic will be back at pre-pandemic levels beginning in 2024, by which time Airport City’s upgraded aviation, logistics, business and leisure offerings will be ready for take-off. With that comes the promise of boosting Hong Kong’s economic growth and enhancing the city’s role in the GBA to draw investors, professional talents and companies.

Follow BrandHK on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, and visit BrandHK online.