Hong Kong gets new air terminal
HONG KONG (AFP) - Officials said Thai Airways and Qatar Airways were set to join Oasis and Emirates in Terminal 2, a 360-million-dollar facility that began its phased opening in February.

In addition to Terminal 2, other projects under development at the airport include a golf course, scheduled to open later this year, as well as a ferry terminal and a second airport hotel.

Tsang said the new terminal, about one-fourth the size of Terminal 1, would further strengthen the city's position as a regional and international transportation hub.

The terminal "will greatly enhance the attractiveness for our airport as a major international passenger and air travel hub service for the Pearl River Delta," he said.

Built on reclaimed land, the airport handled 28.6 million passengers when it opened in 1998. But it handled 44.4 million last year and is expected to have 80 million by 2025.

More than 85 airlines operate flights to over 150 destinations worldwide from Hong Kong, including about 40 cities in mainland China.

e-Travel Blackboard, Australia