The Airport Authority has awarded a non-exclusive 20-year franchise to design, construct and operate a new cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport to Cathay Pacific Services.

Scheduled to open in the second half of 2011 the new facility will be located on a 10-hectare site in the cargo terminal area.

It will have an annual capacity of 2.6 million tonnes increasing the airport's total general and express cargo handling capacity to 7.4 million tonnes per annum.

The authority's Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui today said the new terminal will reinforce the airport's competitiveness as a regional and international air cargo hub.

"It will provide additional choices for airlines, shippers and freight forwarders, and it will bring substantial economic benefits in the form of new jobs and business opportunities to Hong Kong."

Construction will create more than 400 jobs. The facility will employ more than 1,700 people when open.