The ‘world’s most expensive airport’ costing £12bn and the size of 2,000 football pitches

The Guiness World Record for the most expensive airport has been held undefeated for nearly 30 years, and the staggering site stretches the size of roughly 1,926 football pitches.

The major airport, which was built on a 3,083-acre island, cost a staggering £12 billion to build, and its terminal building is another record holder, as the largest in the world at 1.3km (0.8 miles) long. Until 1998, Chek Lap Kok was a quiet island in Hong Kong’s western waters. However, the mainland airport, Kai Tak, was becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the number of flights and the sprawling surrounding city of Kowloon, which meant there was no room to expand.

So, Hong Kong authorities decided on a major modernisation scheme to replace Kai Tak, and a memorandum was signed between British Prime Minister John Major and Chinese Premier Li Peng, despite concerns over the impact on Hong Kong's finances.

The Chek Lap Kok project was launched in 1989, and opened nine years later on 6 July 1998. As part of the Airport Core Programme (ACP), builders even created an adjacent town in Tung Chung that would become home to thousands of airline workers.

To connect the huge number of travellers from the mainland, the Airport Express railway and the Tung Chung MTR line were built.

Major new bridges, a six-lane highway, and underground tunnels, including one under Victoria Harbour, the Western Harbour Crossing, were also created to connect the airport.

Also known as Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), it handles 71 million passengers a year, making it the eighth busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers.

Three runways are in operation and it employs around 68,000 staff. Chinese officials have claimed it will serve Hong Kong for 50 years until 2048.