Hong Kong's airport authority said it would launch a public tender to build
a new cargo terminal at the city's international airport.

Airport Authority Hong Kong, which operates Hong Kong International
Airport, said it is launching the tender following a consultation process
to "maintain and improve the overall competitiveness" of the airport,
according to Dow Jones Newswire.

In June, Cathay Pacific Airways said it wanted to build the facility for
the airline's sole use because of high handling costs at Hong Kong Air
Cargo Terminals Ltd., which processes about 90 percent of the city's air
cargo. Cathay Pacific is HACTL's largest customer.

Cathay said it is the only major cargo airline in the world not to have its
own dedicated cargo terminal at its home base, putting it at a competitive
disadvantage to carriers such as Korean Air and Singapore Airlines.

The airport authority has said it will need to increase the airport's
cargo-handling capacity to meet rising air-cargo volumes. In 2005, cargo
volume rose 10 percent to 3.7 million metric tons.