THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME
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are identified at an early stage. If cost increases are accepted, off-setting savings are sought in the same or other ACP projects. On top of this, the government's competitive tendering system has enabled it to obtain value for money on the ACP
contracts.
Government works departments, and other participants such as the AA, MTRC and WHTC, have full responsibility for their own project-level planning, execution, control and management. They are required to complete projects on time and within budget, and to report progress and co-ordinate their work through NAPCO.
NAPCO's job is to ensure compliance with ACP plans, programmes and budgets, and to act as a focal point for the management of project interfaces and resolution of problems. It is made up of staff from the government and the ACP project management consultant.
Protecting the Environment
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies have been undertaken for each ACP project as an integral part of project planning and design. These studies have generally shown that, with suitable mitigation measures in operation, the projects will be environmentally acceptable. Such measures include the installation of noise barriers and enclosures and window insulation to mitigate noise exposure from construction sites and future highway and railway operations; plus general con- struction site housekeeping to minimise dust.
The island formed at Chek Lap Kok for the airport platform was designed to allow tidal water to flow between the airport and the North Lantau coastline, flushing partially-enclosed areas of water to the east. Much of the north coastline of Lantau involves reclamation, but most of the natural coastline west of Tung Chung will be retained. Several mitigation measures have been initiated for the loss of wildlife habitats along North Lantau and at Chek Lap Kok. These include ecological studies of local wetlands, seagrass beds and mangrove communities; the relocation of a colony of Romer's Tree Frogs from Chek Lap Kok; and the replanting of mangroves and woodlands.
Extensive environmental monitoring and audit programmes are being conducted by the project offices and reported to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to ensure the acceptable performance of individual projects. In addition, environmental project offices for the West Kowloon and Kwai Chung/Tsing Yi project areas were established by the EPD in 1992 and 1993, respectively, to monitor and audit the cumulative effects of the construction works and to ensure that environmental issues are quickly identified and acted upon by the works agents. Staffed by EPD and environmental consultancy teams, these offices also help to deal with local community concerns on environmental issues arising from the construction
works.
Safety at Work
The government continues to promote safety at work on the ACP sites. The ACP Construction Safety Award Scheme is organised annually to recognise contractors and workers of ACP sites which have implemented sound safety management systems and achieved good safety records. Other measures have been taken to improve the safety awareness and knowledge of workers and supervisory staff. The Labour