Airport Authority Awards Tender for Hong Kong’s First Autonomous Mass Transportation System

Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) announced today it has awarded the tender for the development of autonomous vehicles and the associated transportation system for carrying visitors between the Hong Kong Port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) and SKYCITY at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). It will be the first autonomous mass transportation system in Hong Kong.

The tender was awarded to KCM - PML Joint Venture, formed by KC Smart Mobility Company Limited (KC Smart Mobility), a subsidiary of Kwoon Chung Bus Holdings Limited, and Prime Motors Limited. The joint venture has also joined forces with Baidu, the global market leader in autonomous driving technology, as technology provider of the intelligent transportation integrated system; and Xiamen King Long as vehicle supplier.

The autonomous transportation system will operate on Airportcity Link, a dedicated vehicular bridge integrated with a pedestrian walkway. Built by AAHK, Airportcity Link will connect the Hong Kong Port of HZMB and SKYCITY, a major commercial development on the Airport Island that provides a wide array of dining, shopping and entertainment offerings.

Visitors riding on the autonomous vehicles from the Hong Kong Port will reach SKYCITY in just three minutes, or vice versa. Each autonomous vehicle will carry a maximum of 16 passengers. The entire system can carry 500 passengers per hour per direction at the initial stage, with a target to increase the throughput to 2,000 passengers per hour per direction.

An agreement was signed today between Vivian Cheung, Acting Chief Executive Officer of AAHK, and James Wong, Director of KC Smart Mobility.

Vivian Cheung said at the signing ceremony, “HKIA has been pioneering the application of autonomous driving technology. We are the world’s first and only airport to put autonomous vehicles into live airport operations in a large scale, with autonomous electric tractors for baggage and cargo delivery, autonomous patrol cars to enhance airport security, and autonomous buses to shuttle airport staff on the apron.”

“The seamless connection between SKYCITY and the Hong Kong Port of the HZMB brought by the new system, along with the numerous attractions at SKYCITY, will certainly create exceptional experience and lure visitors, especially those from the Greater Bay Area, to the new landmark,” added Cheung.

In the next phase of development the autonomous transportation system on Airportcity Link will be further extended from SKYCITY to the nearby Tung Chung town centre, providing convenient connection with the MTR and bus service.