With Hong Kong's troubled new airport turning from a public relations disaster into a costly fiasco, the territory's Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee-hwa, agreed yesterday to set up an independent team to conduct an investigation into what went wrong.
The inquiry, which will have two foreign members, will also establish "where responsibility lies and report the findings to the Chief Executive," the Chief Secretary, Ms Anson Chan, said yesterday.
One of the questions facing the inquiry will be whether the airport was pushed either by the Hong Kong or Chinese government into opening too early. The new air facility at Chek Lap Kok was formally opened on July 2nd by President Jiang Zemin, and was the high point of celebrations to mark the first anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.
The airport, which opened with great fanfare to commercial traffic on Monday, suffered a body blow yesterday when the main air cargo operator said it was stopping most imports and exports for eight days because of chaos at its handling centre at the $20 billion Chek Lap Kok airport.
"We regret having to make this decision," said Mr Anthony Charter, the managing director of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. The import-export halt excluded a limited number of items such as perishable goods, emergency medical supplies, newspapers and strong room items.
The company had a monopoly at Hong Kong's old airport at Kai Tak. Its new $1 billion freight facility, billed as one of the finest in the world, has been in chaos since the new Hong Kong airport opened. The main problem has been the deletion of all cargo records by the central computer, but other glitches have occurred with power outlets and loading and unloading arrangements.
Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd (Dragonair) is said to face a revenue loss of up to $2 million due to the eight-day embargo imposed on most air cargo. Hong Kong's main air cargo trade is with the US, Taiwan, Japan and Germany.
A convoy of trucks will move cargo 30 km (18 miles) from the new airport to Kai Tak, which is now closed to all air traffic.
Ms Chan said: "We share the community's disappointment over the performance of the new airport, but we are rendering every possible assistance to the Airport Authority to enable it to put things right."