Airport Authority Hong Kong Wednesday announced unaudited revenue of 4,199 million HK dollars (about US$540 million) for the six months ended Sept. 30, 2007, up 10.1 percent from the corresponding period in 2006.

The authority's profit attributable to equity shareholder of 1, 136 million HK dollars (about US$146 million) witnessed an increase of 14.4 percent.

Total passenger throughput advanced 7.1 percent, to 24.3 million; cargo volumes grew 5.8 percent, to 1.88 million tons; and air traffic movements increased 6.0 percent, to 149,030.

Stanley Hui, Chief Executive Officer of the authority said, " After a lackluster first quarter, we saw solid increases in cargo throughput from April to September.

"Strong and sustained economic growth on the Mainland and in Hong Kong generated demand for aviation services. And with continued steady growth in passenger volumes, Hong Kong International Airport will soon serve more than 50 million passengers per year," he said.

To meet this demand and reinforce Hong Kong's position as a premier regional and international aviation hub, the authority is investing 4.5 billion HK dollars (about US$577 million) to expand and enhance the infrastructure and services at Hong Kong International Airport.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2007)