1,600 workforce to be recruited

The $2 billion development has been designed to facilitate the convergence and interflow of sea, land and air passenger traffic which are set for a rapid growth following the Mainland's entry into the World Trade Organisation, as well as the opening of Asia World Expo and Disneyland on Lantau Island.

SkyPlaza, with a gross floor area of 140,000 square metres, is one of the largest building projects in Hong Kong at present and due for completion in mid-2006. A workforce of 1,600 will be recruited during the construction phase.

Located on the east side of the existing passenger terminal building, SkyPlaza will house a second passenger terminal with customs, immigration and quarantine facilities; a bus terminal for cross-boundary routes as well as Disneyland-airport buses; and 35,000 square metres of retail, catering and entertainment areas.

A "People Mover System" will link SkyPlaza to Terminal One and is also planned to be extended to a new permanent ferry terminal.

The integrated SkyPlaza development will provide office space for business partners. It will also be home for the authority's headquarters.

The authority's Commercial Director Hans Bakker said as a focal point of activities that are vital to establishing the airport as the international aviation hub, SkyPlaza is stirring excitement in the region's aviation industry, and is the envy of many airports.

Largest single contract awarded since airport opened

"SkyPlaza has an enviable position at the heart of SkyCity, a complex that houses the new Asia World-Expo, a vast new international exhibition centre, and a nine-hole golf course, a hotel and office tower, as well as the SkyPier," he said.

The SkyPlaza Building Works construction contract, the largest single contract awarded since the airport opening, was signed with Chun Wo - Fujita Joint Venture. The company was also awarded a contract for extending the People Mover tunnel to connect SkyPlaza and the future permanent ferry terminal.