LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
development of Hong Kong's new international airport at Chek Lap Kok. The reclamation is destined for private and public housing, commercial development and strategic transport links to the airport such as the third harbour crossing, the West Kowloon Expressway and the airport railway. It will also be used to compensate for land-use deficiencies in adjacent areas by providing more open space and government facilities. Steady progress has been maintained in the West Kowloon Reclamation and more than 90 per cent of the area has been formed. A new wholesale market occupying 10 hectares of the reclamation was opened in September 1993-completed only 21 months after the first piece of reclaimed land made its appearance. Construction of a new road network will begin in mid-1995. Work on other infrastructure and facilities, for a planned population of 91 000, will also commence progressively from 1995 onwards.
Reclamation at Hung Hom Bay was substantially completed, providing 36 hectares of land for private and public housing, commercial development, extension of the existing Kowloon-Canton Railway freight yard, government facilities, institutional and community facilities, schools, open space and roadworks. The area will house about 11 500 people. Engineering infrastructure, including two trunk roads (the Hung Hom Bypass and Princess Margaret Road Link), is being designed and will be completed by 1998.
Upon the relocation of Hong Kong International Airport to Chep Lap Kok, an area of about 670 hectares in Southeast Kowloon will be released for development in line with the Metroplan concept. Of this, about 300 hectares will be reclaimed from Kowloon Bay, about 270 hectares will be obtained from the existing airport site and about 100 hectares will be reserved for the proposed typhoon shelter and cargo-working area at Cha Kwo Ling. The adjoining 260 hectares of existing urban areas at Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan, Ma Tau Kok and Kowloon City will also offer opportunities for urban restructuring. The development and restructuring of Southeast Kowloon will require a wide range of engineering works, including the reprovisioning of marine and land-based facilities; reclamation; highway construction and the provision of drainage, sewerage, sewage treatment and other public utilities. The development will be implemented in phases, striding into the next century. Upon completion, it will accommodate about 285 000 people and provide about 110 000 jobs. Consultants have already prepared a report on the development statement of Southeast Kowloon. Action is being taken to commission consultants for further detailed studies to transform the development statement into action plans for implementation.
In line with the Metroplan, a feasibility study on Kowloon Point Development, which covers an area of about 60 hectares at the southern end of the West Kowloon Reclamation, will also be commissioned. The study will investigate the essential aspects of planning, urban design, landscaping, traffic and transport, engineering, environmental impact assessment, port and marine works, programming and costing in developing Kowloon Point. It will formulate practical and optimum solutions for the phased and integrated development of the study area within the framework of the latest strategic planning, traffic and transport proposals. The selection of consultants is underway. The feasibility study is expected to start in mid-1995 and will take about 15 months to complete.
Urban Renewal
In preparing the Metroplan, the older urban districts were seen as offering redevelopment opportunities for comprehensive renewal, to create a better urban environment.
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