Airport Authority takes major stake in Zhuhai Airport

Themis Qi

The Hong Kong Airport Authority plans to invest 4.3 billion yuan (HK$4.6 billion) for a 35 percent stake in Zhuhai Airport, a move that enhances collaboration among the seven airports in the Greater Bay Area as outlined by Beijing in 2019.

The stake acquisition by the manager of the Hong Kong International Airport, supported by the central government and Guangdong Province, makes the collaboration between the airports an exemplary model for GBA cities to complement each other's strengths, said Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung at the signing ceremony yesterday.

Lam cited Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Director Xia Baolong, saying that Hong Kong should develop its ports in land, air and sea.

HKAA chairman Fred Lam Tin-fuk said the cooperation will enable travelers from Zhuhai and cities in the western part of the GBA to make better use of the extensive aviation network of the HKIA to connect to the rest of the world.

Besides, HKAA's subsidiary, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai Airport Management Company, will gain rights for operating and managing the Zhuhai Airport extended by another 20 years to 2046.

Additionally, HKAA and Zhuhai Airport will develop a high-end aviation industrial park.

The authority and a state-backed enterprise of Zhuhai set up a joint venture to rent the Zhuhai Airport for 20 years at a rent of 200 million to 300 million yuan per year in 2006.

In 2020, the administration had mentioned the plan to buy a stake in the Zhuhai Airport in the policy address.

Our Hong Kong Foundation vice president and co-head of public policy institute Ryan Ip Man-ki thinks the stake acquisition will make HKAA feel more at ease in the operation and management of Zhuhai Airport, to better exploit the potential of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and cement the city's role as an international aviation hub.

Billy Mak Sui-choi, an associate professor at the Baptist University, believes the enhanced collaboration between the two targets the market in western Guangdong, instead of intensifying competition in the GBA.

However, Mak said that ticket prices will remain the major factor for GBA travelers when choosing airports, which will be up to HKAA.

Zhuhai Airport ranked third in Guangdong and 35th among all mainland airports for handling over 11 million passengers in 2023.

It will be able to handle over 27 million passengers per year upon the completion of its new Terminal 2, targeted for 2025.

In 2019, China's State Council released a GBA development plan, in which Beijing proposed to build a world-class airport cluster in the region, with three international airports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, and four airports in Macau, Zhuhai, Foshan and Huizhou.

GBA is expected to have 17 runways to handle 420 million passengers and over 20 million tonnes of cargo by 2035.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific Airways announced it is set to use the third runway at HKIA and that the number of flights will fully return to pre-pandemic levels in January.