Chapter 1284: Monopolising the traffic in Hong Kong

Thinking about this, Xia Yu asked Su Xingjian, 'Governor Su, what was the annual passenger volume of Kai Tak International Airport last year?'

'I remember it was written in last year's government annual work report. I didn't pay much attention when I read it before, was it 7 million or 8 million?'

This figure also made Su Xingjian's head spin.

However, since he was in charge of Hong Kong after all, and had read the report more often, he pondered for a long time with a furrowed brow, and still remembered it.

'I remember that the annual passenger volume reached 8.57 million, the cargo throughput reached 439,000 tons, and the number of aircraft flights exceeded 52,000.'

'What was the maximum passenger capacity of Kai Tak International Airport?'

Xia Yu nodded slightly and asked another key question.

Su Xingjian knew Xia Yu's purpose, and he immediately said, 'The fourth phase of the airport terminal expansion project was completed in 1982, and I remember that it was constructed by Jinding Infrastructure Limited. I even participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it opened.'

'According to the data after the fourth phase of the expansion, the annual standard passenger capacity is 10 million, and under high load it can reach 12 million,' Xia Yu recited,

Xia Yuyan muttered, '10 million passengers.'

'Last year, it reached 8.57 million passengers. Tourism and entertainment is one of the six pillars of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong itself is an island. Air passenger transport is the biggest support for the tourism and entertainment industry.'

'Such a small passenger flow is not enough.'

'I estimate that by 1986 at the most, the passenger flow will exceed 10 million passengers.'

'If Hong Kong develops well, it may be able to reach it in early 1985, but by then it will be too late.'

Xia Yu was very clear about the future of Xiangjiang.

He remembered that the year before Xiangjiang's return, it had already reached an annual international passenger throughput of 30 million, ranking third among airports worldwide.

By the time he was reborn in the future, it had reached a passenger throughput of more than 70 million and a cargo throughput of more than 5 million tons!

Now it is only at a peak of 12 million passengers, where is it?

Su Xingjian's face was a little heavy, and he said, 'What Mr. Xia is saying is that the Kai Tak International Airport expansion project must begin immediately.'

Xia Yu nodded and said, 'It is necessary to start the expansion immediately, but I do have another suggestion.'

Su Xingjian leaned forward slightly: 'Mr. Xia, please instruct.'

Xia Yu took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then said: 'Kai Tak International Airport is located in Kowloon City District, which is too small. The entire district is only ten square kilometres, and there is a large permanent population. The expansion of the airport will be very costly and difficult, and it has insufficient potential.'

'In fact, by now, Kai Tak International Airport no longer matches Hong Kong's positioning, and it is destined to lag behind in the future.'

'If Hong Kong is to become an international city, it must have an international airport that meets the requirements. The best way is to build a new international airport, and Kai Tak International Airport can be used as a transitional airport, and then just expand it in the first phase.'

'Given Hong Kong's geographical conditions, it would be best to build it on an outlying island, Lantau Island Chek Lap Kok would be good.'

Xia Yu directly followed the situation in his previous life to make his suggestions.

In his previous life, the Hong Kong International Airport was built on Lantau Island Chek Lap Kok in the New Territories West Outlying Islands District.

The Islands District is also a district in Hong Kong that is famous for being sparsely populated. It covers the largest area in Hong Kong and is made up of more than 20 islands of varying sizes, with a total area of 168 square kilometres and a population of just 40,000.

Building an international airport in this area means, among other things, that the cost of land acquisition and demolition is minimal. The land is basically owned by the Hong Kong government, and construction can begin once the land has been demarcated and levelled.

Although shocked by Xia Yu's suggestion to directly start construction of the new airport, Su Xingjian did not refute it at all, but simply agreed and moved on to the level of how to implement it.

He raised several questions.

'Mr Xia, I fully agree that a new airport needs to be built, but if it is built on Lantau Island, in addition to the airport, there is also a need to build the most basic land transport infrastructure. There is no subway there, and the roads are just average,'

'In particular, as you have outlined in your blueprint, ordinary buses are not enough. It is best to have a subway directly connected to the airport. However, the MTR Corporation is still losing money, and the urban subways are still under construction.'

'If these aspects are combined and invested in, it will take a long time, and the financial pressure will be great.'

At this point, Su Xingjian's brows were clouded with worry.

Although Hong Kong's fiscal revenue skyrocketed last year, no matter how much money there is, it will be spent.

Housing and education policies are already two major issues, and if money is poured into these two major holes, I'm afraid there will be a lot of resistance from the Hong Kong public and even within the Hong Kong government.

After all, the new airport is a matter for the future, not the most urgent.

As for the subway, the urban Hong Kong Island Line, such as the Admiralty to Chai Wan section, Sheung Wan to Central section, and the Kwun Tong Line, have not yet opened in densely populated urban areas.

Under these circumstances, if the subway is first built in uninhabited places, the resistance can be imagined!

Even if he, as the Governor of Hong Kong, fully supports Xia Yu, it will still cause a huge storm in Hong Kong.

Su Xingjian's concerns were understandable to Xia Yu.

However, he already had a solution.

Isn't it the pressure of building a new international airport? And the subway company is losing a lot of money?

No problem!

Since these two are such a burden on the finances, he'll just take care of it!

Thinking about this, Xia Yu said with a smile, 'In that case, I'll personally build and operate the new international airport, and I'll buy the Hong Kong subway company too!'

Su Xingjian's eyes widened in disbelief, 'Mr Xia, are you sure?'

'Since its establishment in 1975, the Xiangjiang Metro Company has been losing money every year. Even though some lines have been opened since 1979, the cost of building new subways each year is getting higher and higher, and so are the expenses.'

'I understand that the subway company's losses are common in all countries and regions around the world, which is why no one has ventured into it. It is all run by the government and relies on government subsidies to operate.'

'If you want, I can completely solve all your problems, but I'm afraid it will have an impact on you.'

Xia Yu nodded calmly: 'I'm not joking. Sell me the Hong Kong Metro Company, and I'll run it.'

'However, the Hong Kong government will have to come up with a separate policy to prevent me from incurring too great a loss.'

Su Xingjian said without hesitation: "No problem.'

Xia Yu gave a satisfied smile: "Okay, sell me the Hong Kong Metro Company first these days. As for the specific policy requirements, I'll have someone come up with a plan later, and you can deal with it then.'

At present, the MTR Corporation is losing money, because the Hong Kong government has not yet found the right path for development.

You have to know that in its previous incarnation, the MTR Corporation was one of the few subway companies in the world that could make a profit. Its annual revenue was more than 50 billion Hong Kong dollars, its net profit reached tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars, and its market value was more than 280 billion Hong Kong dollars!

The MTR Corporation is still a model for mainland subway companies to learn from!

The reason the MTR Corporation has been so successful is its unique development model of 'subway + property'.

'Metro + Property' means that the metro company takes overall charge, closely integrating the planning, construction and operation of the railway with the planning, construction and market operation of the superstructure properties along the line, and obtaining benefits by developing characteristic superstructure properties during construction or after operation.

The key to this is that the metro company is fully responsible for the overall planning, design, construction, operation and marketing of the railway and properties, so as to achieve maximum synergy between the metro and the properties.

The 'subway + property' development model has enabled Xiangjiang Metro to build distinctive and highly profitable property projects above nearly half of its stations, which not only bring in huge profits and solve part of the funding needs for construction projects, but also leave behind a large number of high-quality property assets, bringing Xiangjiang Metro long-term and stable revenue.

The reason for being able to obtain so much high-quality land is the policy given by the Hong Kong government.

The policy allows the adjustment of land attributes within a radius of 400 to 800 metres (5 to 10 minutes' walk) around the stations of the Xiangjiang Metro.

Agricultural and industrial land can be converted into commercial land, and this is no small authority. What's more, the land is still supplied at a super low price!

Isn't the profitable Pengcheng Metro Company of the future mainland the famous big landlord in Guangdong Province?

As long as there is this policy authority, it is easy for Xiangjiang Metro Company to turn losses into profits.

Given his contribution and influence in Hong Kong, it would be a breeze to get the Hong Kong subway company to enjoy this policy, wouldn't it?

But first, he should take over the Hong Kong subway company at a low price and then apply this policy to it.

Afterwards, Xia Yu and Su Xingjian talked for a long time, and Xia Yu put forward a lot of strategic opinions on the development of Hong Kong. Su Xingjian said that he would carefully consider and implement them all.

It wasn't until around 9 pm that the Su Xingjian couple left.

Xia Yu made a note of what happened tonight and planned to get things rolling tomorrow.

Now that he already owned the bus, ferry, and passenger and cargo airlines, if he could also get his hands on the subway and airport, he would own the entire Hong Kong transport market.

Oh yeah, and maybe he could also start a taxi company, and that would be perfect...