World landmark vision for airport's SKYTOPIA

Cheng Wong

Airport City is being branded as SKYTOPIA under a blueprint officially unveiled yesterday, marking the Airport Authority's desire to develop the vast site into a world-class destination.

SKYTOPIA will be a new landmark showcasing the city's development potential and investment opportunities, bringing together commercial activities, pop culture, art transactions and entertainment, the authority said.

Chairman Fred Lam Tin-fuk added: "Our vision is to develop SKYTOPIA into a landmark of its own, and a world-leading destination, attracting visitors from within Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, as well as major markets in Asia and the rest of the world."

The project will feature environment-friendly and intelligent transportation systems, including automated parking and driverless vehicles.

It will include Hong Kong's first integrated art gallery for creation, appreciation and trade as well as art-storage facilities.

Other features are a 1.5-kilometer-long waterfront promenade and outdoor plaza, an airport bay terminal with over 500 yacht berths, a water recreation area and a fresh produce market.

Additionally, the second phase of the AsiaWorld-Expo will provide a 20,000-seat indoor multipurpose venue. This comes after the authority's decision in October last year to more than double the scale of Airport City and raise its investment to HK$100 billion.

Cissy Chan Ching-sze, the authority's executive director for commercial, said yesterday that HK$30 billion of the total investment will go toward infrastructure.

Internal resources will be used, Chan said, and there will be no charges to travelers under an "airport construction fee."

Additional expenses will be covered in collaboration with the private sector through global investment.

The project is believed to have significant potential to attract partnerships with other businesses, although returns have not yet been estimated.

Lam said the airport's three-runway system is now fully operational, increasing airport capacity by 50 percent, allowing it to serve 120 million passengers and handle 10 million tonnes of cargo annually.

"Our Airport City is connected to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge to a huge market with a population of close to 90 million whose income is among the highest in China, a region we call the Greater Bay Area," he said.

He said the authority will be the key promoter of SKYTOPIA.

"Our role is to build the key infrastructure, including the autonomous transport system that connects different facilities, and create a platform for experts and investors to deliver services and products through their specialized design facilities - be it at the up-top marina, jet-fresh market [and so forth]," Lam said.

The name SKYTOPIA embodies the attributes and hopes of the development, with SKY and IA manifesting its airport lineage and global reach, while TOP aims to provide visitors with top-tier experiences and underscores its position as a leading regional landmark, the authority said.

It will be "well-connected" in all directions, linking downtown, airport, Hong Kong Port and Tung Chung through its Airport City Link and Airport Tung Chung Link.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan welcomed the extended development blueprint on the bureau's Facebook page.

She expressed hopes for the authority to establish SKYTOPIA as a world-leading landmark and develop it into an economic growth engine that supports and interacts with the civil aviation industry, as well as the economies of Hong Kong and GBA.

cheng.wong@singtaonewscorp.com