Hong Kong's airport should work with counterparts in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) to maintain long-term competitiveness, Hong Kong Airport Authority Chairman Victor Fung said on Tuesday.

While attending the Hong Kong International Airport 2025 Summit, Fung urged Hong Kong's airport to better utilize resources through integration and cooperation with the PRD airports.

The authority's Chief Executive Officer David Pang also said during the summit that integration is irreversible and the airport plays an active role to that effect.

"We seek win-win co-operation with other PRD airports to maximize the resources, values and benefits that an integrated PRD airport system can bring to the region," he said.

Hong Kong Airport Authority hosted the Hong Kong International Airport 2025 Summit Tuesday to collect views on the development of the facility in the next 20 years.

Also addressing the summit, Hong Kong Secretary for Economic Development and Labor Stephen Ip said that over the next two decades, Hong Kong will play an ever stronger role as China's most cosmopolitan city and as the region's leading international financial and business center.

He said Hong Kong will provide a firm platform both for the mainland enterprises seeking to enter international markets and for overseas enterprises looking to tap the mainland market.

Attended by decision-makers, business leaders, academics and senior officials from Hong Kong, the mainland and other parts of the world, the summit aimed at examining the long-term demand, supply and competition the airport will face from now until 2025.

(Xinhua News Agency March 1, 2006)