THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME
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Formation of Land
The ACP involves the creation of 1 669 hectares of new land, comprising a 1 248-hectare platform for the new airport (composed of 920 hectares of reclaimed land, and the islands of Chek Lap Kok and Lam Chau off northern Lantau, which will be levelled); 67 hectares of reclamation along the northern shore of Lantau for Phase I of Tung Chung new town; a 334- hectare reclamation at West Kowloon; and a 20-hectare section of a larger reclamation adjacent to Central and Western districts on Hong Kong Island.
The West Kowloon reclamation will provide housing for 91 000 people, commercial space, and vital road and rail arteries linking Kowloon with the new airport and north- western New Territories. The reprovisioning of private shipyards, to make way for the reclamation, was achieved in May. The target completion date of the project is mid-1997. By the end of 1994, the project was about 77 per cent complete.
Phase I of the Central reclamation will provide opportunities for the development of Hong Kong's central business district, plus a site for the Central terminus of the airport railway. Physical work commenced in September 1993, with completion due by early 1997. By the end of 1994, 36 per cent of the project was complete.
Tung Chung new town will ultimately occupy two valleys at Tung Chung and Tai Ho on northern Lantau and a coastal strip of reclamation in between. It is expected to house 20 000 people by 1997 and up to 200 000 people by 2011. In addition to providing support services for the new airport, it will accommodate commercial and industrial developments and serve = = as an impressive gateway to Hong Kong for visitors. There will be a mixture of private, public rental, and home ownership scheme housing; several shopping centres; an office and hotel complex in the town centre; and an industrial area. Strong emphasis has been placed on community facilities, and both local and long-distance rail and bus transport. Work on the new town started in April 1992, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 1997. The reclamation work has been completed and infrastructure works have commenced. At the year's end, about 41 per cent of the project was complete.
New Transport Facilities
The ACP includes five major highway projects designed to cater for the new airport's traffic and to relieve congestion on existing roads. They comprise the Western Harbour Crossing, West Kowloon Expressway, the Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi sections of Route 3, the Lantau Fixed Crossing and the North Lantau Expressway. Construction work on all five projects is underway. Together with the airport railway, these highways will also provide a rapid transit system between Tung Chung new town and the Central District, stimulating developments on North Lantau.
New Highways
The Western Harbour Crossing will be a dual, three-lane, immersed tube road tunnel. It will link the West Kowloon Expressway on the West Kowloon reclamation with a new section of elevated road in the Western district on Hong Kong Island, connecting to Connaught Road Central. Apart from providing a key part of the airport highway route, it will relieve congestion at the two existing cross-harbour tunnels. The formal project agreement to finance, construct and operate the tunnel under a 30-year franchise was signed in September 1993 with the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited. Physical work