Motion of Thanks - Land,  Housing, Transportation, Environment and Conservation (2014/2/12)

President, yesterday Secretary Prof Anthony CHEUNG put forward some contingency measures in anticipation of the saturation of the Hong Kong International Airport in the next few years, but I think these measures can only meet the urgent needs. There is a pressing need for Hong Kong to build a third runway so as to maintain its position as a hub and its competitiveness, and this demands immediate attention.

According to the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA), if the capacity of the two runways is further increased from the current 65 to 68 air traffic movements per hour, they will reach the maximum capacity. Hong Kong will then have to restrict the movements of passengers and cargo aircrafts, which would seriously undermine the sustainable development of Hong Kong's economy and tourism industry. Looking around the neighbouring regions, we can see that different countries are proactively developing aviation strategies. The construction of the third runway of Thailand's Bangkok Airport will be completed in 2016; Singapore's Changi Airport has planned to build the fourth runway and provide more supporting facilities; Seoul's Incheon Airport will complete the construction and expansion of its second passenger terminal and cargo terminal by 2015, and the fifth runway will also be commissioned in 2020, whereas airports in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Shenzhen have also planned to build their third, fourth or even fifth runways. Only Hong Kong is left in lonesome and remain stagnant. Worse still, the Government and relevant departments are still busy  lobbying various environmental groups, pressure groups and Legislative Council Members.

As Members may be aware, even if the Environmental Impact Assessment report of the third runway is eventually approved, it takes as long as nine years to build the runway. Hong Kong would have missed plenty of opportunities by then, and our market share would be absorbed by other regions, not to mention that the Government is still not fully confident that it can silent the opposition voices and convince the opposition groups. To maintain Hong Kong's position as an aviation hub, it is obvious that there should be no more delay in the construction of the third runway. I hope that different political parties, organizations and Legislative Council Members will bear in mind the overall interests of Hong Kong and support the construction of the third runway with an objective and practical attitude, such that the third runway can be completed on or even in advance of schedule, and thus prevent the recurrence of the high-speed rail funding incident. The Government has to keep up with its hard work and should not give up.

The third runway is not the only factor affecting Hong Kong's world competitiveness. According to the airline companies, the AA has significantly increased the parking charges for the Business Aviation Designated Apron Area in 2013 at a rate ranging from 50% to 38%. Various airline companies have found their plans upset by the soaring charges, which has not only imposed heavier pressure on operation, but has also affected Hong Kong's image as an international port. Given that the relevant charges have not been revised since the commissioning of the Chek Lap Kok Airport, the increase is therefore perfectly understandable by the industry, but the sudden substantial hike after all these years did catch the persons-in-charge of various airline companies or offices by surprise. It is advised that the authorities should avoid adopting similar approaches in future, but develop a reasonable and appropriate charge increase mechanism so as to allow ample time and room for various airline companies to estimate and plan their expenditure.

President, noting that the focus of this year's Policy Address is housing supply, the business sector is worried that the development will stress too much on residential flats in the years to come to the neglect of commercial land supply. The lack of supply of shops and hotels is not covered extensively in the Policy Address. Insufficient supply of sites for shops will push up rental, thereby increasing the cost of enterprises, which will in turn affect the development of enterprises and people's livelihood. Business opportunities would have been missed even if land supply is subsequently increased. For the provision of hotels, the number of hotel rooms should reach 84 000 by 2017 as planned and thus achieve a better balance between supply and demand. Among these hotel rooms, 7 000 do not have an implementation timetable, so I hope that the Government will take the initiative to follow up on this. The Government estimated that by 2023, inbound tourists will exceed 100 million passenger trips, and the tourism industry will continue to be plagued by the saturation problem of hotel rooms. There are a few things that the Government should pay attention to, including the expensive but small hotel rooms, which have directly undermined the incentives of overseas visitors to come to Hong Kong. Upon the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, classy and quality hotels which are inexpensive will be provided in Macao and Hengqin across the harbour, we may then lose those overnight visitors with high spending potentials. I therefore hope that the Government will pay close attention to the commercial sites for shops and hotels in the coming decade, so as to ensure that there is sufficient supply, with a view to enabling the steady development of Hong Kong's tourism and services industries.

President, some people have placed the development of tourism and environment conservation in conflicting positions, which is completely wrong. If the Government only considers environment conservation and develops a large number of country parks, as well as constructs bridges and roads in remote areas, do you think this is a big waste? Eco-tourism does not require massive construction works, nor will it cause pollution to the environment. It may even drive the economic development and promote employment of local residents. Hence, it is entirely a green industry. Certainly, the "conservation-first" approach should be adopted for the development of eco-tourism, so as to give some respite for visitors and the natural environment. Notwithstanding that the natural condition of Hong Kong is superb and there are wonderful mountains and sea, the overall planning does not tie in well with tourism. Also, the lack of publicity and promotion has failed to help convert eco-tourism into an industry with economies of scale, which has resulted in a waste of resources. We propose that while promoting environment conservation, the Government should also provide a platform for gauging the views of local people, environmental groups and the tourism industry on the development of eco-tourism with local characteristics.

Since Hong Kong is a renowned tourist city, efficient and effective complementary tourist facilities will benefit the development of our society, create business opportunities and promote employment. It is hoped that the relevant Policy Bureaux will break their boundaries and work together to offer suggestions and advice on Hong Kong's tourism industry.

President, I so submit.