Is the aviation hub key to Hong Kong's economic prosperity?

Opposition to the third runway essentially centres on concerns about increased emissions and air quality and the effect that construction will have on the habitat of the pink dolphin.

There are those who say that the airport is big enough and if further capacity is required, then it should be built on the mainland. However, this would come at a considerable cost to Hong Kong's economy, some say. The real damage would be to erode Hong Kong's position, unique in the region, as a hub for regional and global multinational headquarters.

Hong Kong's appeal, the argument goes, lies in the ease with which high value-adding professionals are able to move around the region and the world, using Hong Kong as a base. In a recent presentation to the British Chamber of Commerce, public policy consultant David Dodwell said: "As of the end of 2012, Hong Kong was home to 1,367 regional headquarters of multinational companies - by far the largest clustering in Asia." These, he says, directly employ about 140,000 people. About 70 per cent of them say that Hong Kong's transport infrastructure is a significant factor in choosing it as a headquarters. Over half of them engage in trade, wholesale and retail businesses, while a quarter are involved in professional, business and education services, and financing and banking.

"Clustering of these high value-adding industries in Hong Kong in turn further strengthens it as a business hub, attracting the world's leading legal and accounting firms and many other professional services providers," Dodwell says.