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SCMP

This article was first published on October 12, 1989
By Andy Ho
Bold vision for Hong Kong
The governor, David Wilson, yesterday outlined his boldest plan yet to take Hong Kong through 1997 into the 21st century headed by a massive HK$127 billion airport and port development, greater educational opportunities and the building of a new town.
As well as seeking to use the territory’s economic power to secure the future, Wilson also committed the government to a faster pace of political reform and a bill of rights by next summer.
He pleaded for China to heed the wishes of Hong Kong people in formulating the Basic Law, but warned against residents meddling in China’s domestic politics.
During his 85-minute annual policy speech to the Legislative Council, he outlined the most ambitious development plans ever undertaken by any governor.

Wilson said the challenges presented to Hong Kong could only be met with continued commitment from the community as a whole.
In his third policy speech since taking office in 1987, he also unveiled initiatives on immigration, human rights and manpower training.
The cornerstone of his “building for the future” policy is a new international airport at Chek Lap Kok on western Lantau Island which would begin operating by early 1997 — ahead of the handover to Chinese rule on July 1.
The two-runway airport would handle 80 million passengers a year – three times the capacity of the existing Kai Tak facilities.
Described as the largest project ever undertaken in Hong Kong, the airport will include backup port facilities, rail and highway links and a new satellite town for 150,000 people in the nearby Tung Chung valley complete with industrial and commercial facilities.
Once the new airport is ready, Kai Tak would be closed down and height restrictions lifted in parts of Kowloon to allow for redevelopment.
Wilson hoped that the enormous cost of the scheme could be shared by the private sector and felt that the projects were commercially viable.

Stockbrokers saw the airport project as a positive sign of the government’s commitment to Hong Kong’s future and took advantage by selling shares. The Hang Seng Index shed 36 points to close at 2,808 yesterday.
Bankers, on the other hand, reacted swiftly to accept the challenge to help finance the mammoth project. Hang Seng Bank chairman Quo-wei Lee said the banking sector was gearing itself up. But he was quick to warn the government of the potential risks and inflationary effects in mismanaging such a huge expenditure.
“The magnitude of the problem is such that the government would need money skills and management vision of a very different calibre,” Lee said.
The governor himself also admitted that the sheer size of the projects would need a rethink on labour policy.
“It may well be necessary to consider exceptional arrangements to ensure that we have an adequate supply of labour so that they are completed on time and without causing inflationary pressures,” Wilson said.
The extra labour demand will most probably be filled by workers from China.
The governor’s blueprint was generally welcomed by legislators as forward looking. Senior legislative councillor Allen Lee Peng-fei hailed Wilson’s speech as the best he had heard in his 11 years as legislator.

“It is the best delivery from the governor when we are facing so many challenges and changes in Hong Kong, particularly on the political front.
“I believe the people of Hong Kong would be proud of our past achievements and the plans for the future,” Lee said.
The governor’s 62-page policy address was his most substantial public statement since the June 4 massacre in Beijing.
Although he avoided any mention of the bloody crackdown, he observed that local confidence had been badly shaken and that the incident had had a traumatic effect on Hong Kong.
“We have all been forcefully reminded how vulnerable Hong Kong is to developments which occur outside our borders over which we have no control,” Wilson said.
This had led to a significant increase in applications for emigrations and demands for right of abode in the United Kingdom, he noted.


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Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong lays plans for new international airport at Chek Lap Kok – from the SCMP archive

Aerial view of the Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok in June 1998. Photo: Foster + Partners

David Wilson speaks at a ceremony in Hong Kong on May 30, 1990. Photo: Wan Kam Yan

(From left) Graham Barnes, secretary for planning, environment and lands, David Ford, chief secretary, and Anson Chan Fang On-sang, secretary for economic services, at a press conference to announce details of Hong Kong’s port and airport development on October 1989. Photo: SCMP

A worker peers out from the skeleton construction of the central terminus for the airport railway in 1997. The airport-railway station and surrounding tunnels were finished in 1998. Photo: AFP

Historic joint declaration on Hong Kong’s future gets first signing – from SCMP archive

Richard Evans (left), the British ambassador to China, and Zhou Nan (right), chairman of the Chinese negotiating team, exchange documents at the initialling of the Sino-British draft agreement on September 26, 1984. Photo: P. Y. Tang

South China Morning Post’s front page on September 27, 1984.

Geoffrey Howe, the British foreign secretary at the time, at Hong Kong’s Government House on August 1, 1984. Photo: Chan Kiu

Edward Youde waves just before boarding the private jet for Beijing to take part in the initialling of the draft agreement on the Sino-British Joint Declaration on September 26, 1984. Photo: GIS

Typhoon York kills 2 people and injures hundreds in Hong Kong in 1999 – from SCMP archive

Sampans drift off Sai Kung Pier after being carried away by huge waves caused by Typhoon York on September 16, 1999. Photo: Dickson Lee

A couple sit at the waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui as the No 3 signal is raised over Hong Kong on September 15, 1999. Photo: Edward Wong

Yachts at Sai Kung run aground after being hit by strong winds and waves brought by Typhoon York on September 16, 1999. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

35 years ago, Hong Kong saw the beginning stages of what will become its international airport in Chek Lap Kok


35 years ago, Hong Kong saw the beginning stages of what will become its international airport in Chek Lap Kok.


From our archives

On This Day | Hong Kong lays plans for new international airport at Chek Lap Kok – from the SCMP archive

35 years ago, Hong Kong saw the beginning stages of what will become its international airport in Chek Lap Kok

Bold vision for Hong Kong