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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (July 11):
Question:
Regarding the services and operation of the cross-boundary heliport in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the amount of rental paid by the operator of the above heliport to the Government and the passenger volume of the heliport in each of the past three years, and how such rental level compares with that laid down in the tenancy agreement for the heliport which has come into effect since July this year;
(b) given that in reply to my question at the Council meeting on May 2 this year regarding the granting of tenancy agreement for operating the above heliport and in the reply dated June 5 this year to my letter, the Government pointed out that the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) would monitor the operation and charges of the above heliport operator in accordance with the tenancy agreement to ensure fair and equal access to the heliport by all helicopter service operators, and the arrangement for services of the heliport operator must be to the satisfaction of CAD, of the details of the relevant agreement terms, the specific criteria for CAD to measure the degree of its satisfaction, as well as details of the relevant monitoring and complaint mechanism;
(c) given that the above heliport is currently the only cross-boundary heliport in Hong Kong, of the measures to prevent the single cross-boundary heliport operator from monopolising the market; and
(d) given that the above heliport is primarily for use by twin-engine helicopters flying between Hong Kong and Macau, and the site earmarked at the Kai Tak Development for the development of a second cross-boundary heliport is not located in the central business district (CBD), whether the Government will identify another site in CBD, for relocating the heliport at Tamar Site which was closed in 2003, to be used by single-engine helicopters, which represent 85% of the total number of helicopters in the world, in order to provide domestic helicopter services within the territory and helicopter services between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta Region; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In the past three years, the rent paid to the Government by the operator of the cross-boundary heliport at the rooftop of the Sheung Wan Macau Ferry Terminal was 4.5% of the annual ticket revenue of the helicopter service provided at the heliport. Given that ticket revenue is commercially sensitive information, it is not appropriate for the Government Property Agency to disclose the actual rent paid without the consent of the operator. The relevant figures for passenger volume are set out below:
Year Annual passenger volume
2006 107,114
2005 93,968
2004 106,058
Under the new tenancy agreement that has taken effect since July 1, 2007, the operator shall pay a fixed annual rent of $1.8 million to the Government in the first five years. For the remaining 13 years, the rent payable by the operator will base on (i) an annual rent of $605,000, (ii) 5% of the total revenue of heliport operation, or (iii) the passenger throughput at the heliport ($800 per passenger), whichever is higher.
(b) The new tenancy agreement stipulates that the landing and parking charges levied on helicopter service operators proposed by the heliport operator must be reasonable and non-discriminatory. The heliport operator must consult the heliport users and obtain the agreement of the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) before levying these charges. The tenancy agreement also requires that the heliport operator set the relevant charges based on objective criteria such as the weight of the helicopter and its length of stay at the heliport. The above arrangements should prevent the heliport operator from levying excessive charges.
To promote competition, the new tenancy agreement further stipulates that the heliport operator shall make the services and facilities of the heliport available for use by all helicopter service operators on a fair and equal basis. Helicopter service operators who want to operate at the heliport shall submit their operation plans to the heliport operator prior to commencement of service. The heliport operator must publish details of the plans and arrange for the landing and taking-off of the helicopters concerned on a fair and equal basis. CAD will follow up on any complaint and will decide on whether the arrangements made by the heliport operator are fair and equitable.
(c) Cross-boundary heliport is an important transportation infrastructure that is open for use by all helicopter service operators. The heliport operator does not have any right to monopolise the use of the heliport. To cater for future demand for cross-boundary helicopter service, the Government has already reserved a site in the Kai Tak Development Area for future construction of the second cross-boundary heliport in the urban area.
(d) The Central Heliport at Tamar that was decommissioned in 2003 had provided landing facilities for helicopter service operators to operate domestic services. The Government plans to build a government helipad at the north-east corner of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre for emergency and official operations of the Government Flying Service. The Government has proposed that when there is no government operation the helipad will be open for helicopter service operators to provide domestic services from the Central Business District. This helipad will provide for the operation of both single-engine and double-engine helicopters.
As regards cross-boundary helicopter service, the site reserved in the Kai Tak Development Area for cross-boundary heliport development is on ground level and thus can allow operations of both single-engine and double-engine helicopters. The expanded cross-boundary heliport at the rooftop of the Sheung Wan Macau Ferry Terminal and the site reserved in the Kai Tak Development Area for cross-boundary heliport development should be sufficient to cater for future demand for cross-boundary helicopter service between Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta Region.
Ends/Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Issued at HKT 15:55
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