``The new airport is now famous for all the wrong reasons,'' said the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce's representative James Tien on the legislative council.

Parts are missing, food is rotting and tempers are flaring after opening headaches at a new US$1.0-billion air cargo terminal at Chek Lap Kok developed into a full-blown migraine.

``We are supposed to be the transport hub and the most advanced centre of the Pearl Delta Region,'' Tien told a local newspaper. ``What cannot be calculated is the sullying of the image of efficiency Hong Kong used to project -- and used to justify its high costs for doing business.''

On Wednesday, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (HACTL),which halted most operations after the airport opened last week, said it would resume only partial services on July 19 and full operations at the new airport only at the end of August.More than Hong Kong's reputation is at stake. The costs of the air cargo fiasco are mounting, and Hong Kong is gaining a new appreciation for the old Kai Tak airport which closed on July 6.

Air freight accounts for 23.6 per cent of Hong Kong's imports in value and 18.8 per cent of its exports, the government said.

Goods worth more than HK$1.0 billion (US$129 million) were shipped into the territory each day by air while exports valued at more than HK$750 million (US$97 million) were exported daily through Hong Kong's old, ugly but efficient Kai Tak airport. ``What this shows is how important but unappreciated was the smooth operation of Kai Tak to the whole Hong Kong economy,'' said economist Ian Perkin at the Hong Kong General Chamber.

Financial secretary Donald Tsang estimates the air cargo snafu will cost the territory 0.1 per cent of gross domestic product, or between HK$865 million and HK$1.3 billion -- a cost that will add to the new airport's US$20 billion price tag. But Hong Kong's businesscommunity says it is too early to put a figure on the damage -- and those who are prepared to guess say the cost would certainly exceed the government's estimate.

``It will have a direct impact of between 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent'' said economist Andy Xie at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.