Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has begun reconfiguring the North and South Departures Immigration halls in Terminal 1. Scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2009, the HK$90 million project will increase the number of security channels from 18 to 32, ensuring the Airport Authority continues to provide quality service.

     The expansion of the Departure Immigration halls is part of a HK$4.5 billion enhancement programme that began in 2006 and will be completed in phases by 2011. In Terminal 1, the programme will consolidate the two Arrivals Immigration halls into a single, more spacious hall; add new transfer desks, immigration counters and security channels for arriving and transit passengers; and expand the airport's baggage handling capacity.
     Two-thirds of the programme's HK$4.5 billion budget is being invested in the airfield. Ten new cargo stands have been built, the airport's two runways have been resurfaced and two rapid exit taxiways have come into operation. A new North Satellite Concourse is under construction and will enter service by 2009.