Some 1,000 vehicles, 70 barges and 30 aircraft will make the move, starting on Sunday evening, from the city's old Kai Tak airport to the new US$20-billion airport at Chek Lap Kok, off Lantau island.

Planning for the massive overnight move began two years ago and the main threat to the schedule now is the weather, with the operation taking place in the middle of the typhoon season. Forecasts of heavy rains and thunderstorms on the night of July 5-6 do not deter the Airport Authority.

"The rain might, if very heavy, slow up the move but it certainly would not bring it to a halt," said Clinton Leeks, director of corporate development at the Airport Authority.

"Most of the equipment does not take the full length of time that we have allotted it to move across." Large stretches of major roads will beclosed to traffic during the move and Hong Kong police said they expected to have about 1,000 officers overseeing theoperation.

The move from Kai Tak starts at around 5.30 pm (0930 GMT) on Sunday and lasts into early Monday morning when the first commercial airliner will depart from Hong Kong's new airport.

China's president Jiang Zemin and US president Bill Clinton used the new international airport during their visits to Hong Kong over the past week. The airport was begun during British rule seven years ago and some aviation analysts said the timing of its completion was unfortunate.

The airport takes off into the Asian financial crisis, which has dealt a heavy blow to regional trade and travel, prompting regional carriers to cut fleets and flights.

The Airport Authority expects the airport to handle about 30 million passengers in the first 12 months, compared with its initial capacity of 35 million passengers. "Traffic in the low 30 millions would still make us one of the half a dozen busiestinternational airports in the world," Leeks said.

Kuala Lumpur opened its new international airport earlier this week, raising the question of whether Asia was adding "white elephants" to a sagging regional travel market. The airports are, however, serving different markets, Leeks said. "You are seeing some increase in capacity in admittedly a slightly difficult time in the Far East, but no one doubts that in the medium term it is all going to be needed," he said.

Hong Kong's new airport will also be an overdue replacement for cramped and crowded Kai Tak airport. Kai Tak, with its approach path skimming Hong Kong rooftops, operates beyond capacity under the constraints of a night curfew and has to turn down about 100 requests for slots every week.

The new facilities will, however, increase airport charges by about 20 per cent compared to Kai Tak, at a time when operators are increasingly price sensitive.

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd (Dragonair) said its airport costs may increase by about 25 per centwith the move to the new airport.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (HACTL) said it was increasing its handling fees by roughly 30 per cent to about HK$1.47 (18 US cents) per kg with the move to its new facilities.