CIVIL ENGINEERING AND PUBLIC WORKS
Power Company to
Ground work to cost HK$23 million
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MAJOR site for the construction of a new power station which will eventually triple the present power facilities for Kowloon and the New Territories has been proposed to the Hong Kong Government by the recently formed Peninsula Electric Power Company (PEPCO).
The site proposal is part of the vast expansion programme announced late last year, when Esso Standard Eas- tern, Inc. of New York entered into an agreement with China Light and Power Company to form a new joint generating company which would
finance and construct the additional plant needed to take care of rapidly growing power needs in the Colony. All the new electricity generated will be distributed through the system of China Light.
The investments the new company will make for this purpose during the next 15 years have been estimated at HK$500 million. All of this money will be invested in the Colony under the scheme of control devised by Government which limits company profits to a reasonable figure, but also provides sufficient inducement for large new capital outlays and efficient operation.
Work on the proposed Tsing Yi site can go forward early in October if approval is received on time from Government. The first stage of the work there will consist of a mammoth excavation and fill job at the southern end of the island.
Site Investigation
Almost 3 million cu. yd. of rock must be blasted and removed from the steep slopes leading down to the sea and these must be cut away to provide sufficient level ground for locating the power generating facili- ties. Some of the cuts will have to be from the 200 ft. level.
The cost of the site preparation work would be about HK$23 million. A thorough site investigation which has already been completed by Gam- mon (Hongkong) Ltd. has determin- ed the impracticability of locating heavy plant equipment on part of the fill areas.
This means that reclamation will add approximately 2,000,000 sq. ft. to the island and make up 75 per cent. of the total site being requested from Government. It is planned to locate a greater part of the generating facilities on solid ground. The area will be contained by a seawall and drainage will be installed in all of the slopes above the area.
The Peninsula Electric Power Com- pany is also prepared to co-operate with the Government in the construc-
Build on Tsing Yi
Artist's impression of Tsing Yi power station
tion of access roads on the island. Mr. C. F. Wood, a director of PEPCO, said recently that this help and development of the entire site were under discussion and negotiation with the various Government depart- ments concerned.
In the opinion of the company, the Tsing Yi site is the best of a number of sites considered for supplying the fast growing power needs of Kowloon and the New Territories. At the pre- sent Hok Un location where China Light now has 362,000 kW installed, construction is actually going ahead with a new 60,000 kW generator which will come into service this year.
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The trend of load throughout the New Territories indicates the desir- ability of a generating site more to- wards the centre of the load area than Kowloon. In this, Tsing Yi is ideal. The island site also has,
its southern end, an adequate flow of clean, cool water which is essential to power plant operations. The water there, furthermore, is of sufficient depth to permit the access of tankers with fuel supply for the plant. Above all, it is clear of residential areas and no future urban growth can be fore- seen in the immediate area of the site selected.
Growing Requirements
"The Tsing Yi site will be more expensive to develop than alternative sites," Mr. Wood said, "but it offers other advantages in terms of the best possible service to the community so that we have been led to choose it."
He added that about three years would be needed to complete the re- clamation as well as the first part of the project which envisaged two 120,- 000 kW generating sets and that it
Far East Architect & Builder August, 1965
was urgent to proceed as soon as pos- sible since power requirements had been growing so rapidly that even the increased capacity at Hok Un would probably be insufficient by late 1968.
"The availability of large amounts of new capital from abroad as a result of the agreement with Esso Standard Eastern has made it possible to pro- ceed with the original planned expan- sion of the China Light and Power Company and at the same time reduce rates to the consumers," Mr. Wood revealed. The development at the proposed Tsing Yi site would add 480,000 kW of power capacity for the area by 1970 bringing the total amount of power for distribution through the China Light and Power Company system to 1,142,000 kW.
Long Range Plans
This compares with the 362,000 kW available at the Hok Un station at the present time. Longer range plans include the installation of six 300,000 kW generators at the new station. These are among the larger types now being used in the UK and the USA.
Consultants of the Esso Research and Engineering Company visited Hong Kong recently and reviewed the Peninsula Electric Power Company's long range development plans. Com- plete site plans for the Tsing Yi Station as developed by Gammon were submitted to Government in May.
The total time needed to complete the reclamation will be approximately 15 months. However, piling and civil work will begin some eight months after this work starts and this will be followed by plant installation early in 1967.
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