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Following is the question by the Hon Leung Yiu Chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (May 2):
Question:
Regarding the granting of tenancy agreement for operating cross-boundary heliports in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the factors considered in granting the tenancy agreement for the cross-boundary heliport on the rooftop of the Macao Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan this year, and whether such factors include the ability of the bidder to boost the helicopter passenger volume; if not, the reasons for that; if so, of the weighting of such factor; and whether it has considered if the successful bidder will charge different fares and offer different concessions to different groups of passengers, such as those visiting the casinos, tourists and business travellers;
(b) given that currently there are approximately 100 000 helicopter passenger trips per year, of the Government's projected future increase in the passenger volume of helicopter services; whether it has assessed if the fares for the coming 10 years set by the operator successful in the present bid will be higher than the level of the current ones, as well as the impact of the fare increases on passenger volume;
(c) whether the authorities have considered alternative operation modes for cross-boundary heliports other than granting tenancy agreements, so as to avoid the development of the industry concerned being hindered by excessively high tenancy costs; if not, the reasons for that; and
(d) whether it will explore how more contractors could be encouraged to engage in the cross-boundary helicopter service industry in order to enhance competition and facilitate the development of the helicopter transport industry; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Taking into account the findings and recommendations of the Consultancy Study on Helicopter Traffic Demand and Heliport Development in Hong Kong (the Consultancy Study) conducted in 2002, the Government proposed in January 2004 to expand the heliport at the roof-top of the Macau Ferry Terminal (MFT) at Sheung Wan. To meet forecast demand for cross-boundary helicopter service up to 2015, an additional landing/take-off pad and a connecting taxiway will be added to the existing landing/take-off pad under the expansion plan, which will increase the capacity of the MFT heliport by 80% to 55,200 movements a year. To implement the plan, the Government conducted an open tender exercise in last July. The exercise was completed in January this year and we will shortly grant the right to expand and operate the heliport through a tenancy agreement. The tenancy agreement will last for 18 years starting from July this year.
The tenancy agreement concerns the expansion and operation of the heliport rather than the provision of helicopter services. The main considerations in assessing the bids included the proposals on construction and operation submitted by the bidders as well as the level of rental offered to the Government. As regards the future volume of helicopter passengers and the fares and concessions offered to different types of passengers, these would be affected by the demand and supply of the relevant services as well as prevailing market conditions.
(b) The Consultancy Study projects that the number of cross-boundary passenger trips would grow at an average rate of about 9.4% per annum between 2001 and 2020.
According to the tenancy agreement, the heliport will be open for common use by all helicopter service operators on a fair and equal basis. The charges to be levied by the heliport operator on helicopter service operators shall be non-discriminatory and subject to the approval of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD). As regards the fares of helicopter services, they will be determined by individual helicopter service operators taking into account their own operating costs and market conditions.
(c) The operation and management of a cross-boundary heliport through the granting of a tenancy agreement to a private organisation is an established practice that has been working effectively. The rental level under the agreement is established through an open tender exercise.
(d) It has been the Government's longstanding policy to encourage more operators to provide cross-boundary helicopter services to enhance competition. CAD will monitor the operation and charges of the heliport operator to ensure fair and equal access to the heliport by all helicopter service operators.
In addition, to facilitate the long-term development of cross-boundary helicopter services, the Government has reserved a site in the Kai Tak Development Area for use as a second cross-boundary heliport in future.
Ends/Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:42
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