16 THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME
CONSTRUCTION of the 10 Airport Core Programme (ACP) projects - one of the world's largest infrastructure programmes
is well advanced. The ACP is designed to provide modern, efficient air transport facilities, together with associated road and rail facilities and new land, that will support the territory's continued expansion well into the next century.
Apart from the new airport, the ACP projects comprise the Airport Railway; five road projects, including tunnels and bridges, stretching from Central District under the harbour, along the western shore of the Kowloon peninsula, across the islands of Tsing Yi and Ma Wan, and along the North Lantau coast; two major land reclamations in West Kowloon and Central District (in addition to the land reclaimed for the new airport); and a new town at Tung Chung, North Lantau.
Excellent progress was made in 1996 on all the 10 ACP projects with 75 per cent of work completed. By the end of the year, 170 major contracts valued at about $95.8 billion had been awarded by the government, the Airport Authority (AA), the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) and the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) franchisee the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited (WHTC).
The new airport and the Airport Railway remain on target for opening in April and June 1998 respectively. By June 1997, the five highways projects linking Central District to Tung Chung and the new airport, including the Lantau Link and the WHC, will be open for public use; the two reclamations in West Kowloon and Central District will be ready for development; and population intake at Tung Chung will start.
On May 30, 1996, the British and Chinese sides of the Airport Committee agreed that the AA could immediately proceed with the design and construction of the second runway and associated facilities at the new airport. This makes possible the early commissioning of the second, or northern, runway and will help the new airport cope with the fast-growing air traffic demand. The target commissioning date of the northern runway is late 1998. The AA will finance this non-ACP second runway project by borrowings and there is no need for additional equity from the government.
The Need to Replace Kai Tak
A new airport is urgently needed because the international airport at Kai Tak is already operating at capacity in terms of passenger and cargo throughput. In 1996, more than 29.6 million passengers passed through Kai Tak, an increase of 8 per cent compared with 1995. Tourism receipts amounted to over $87 billion, contributing 8 per cent to Hong Kong's GDP. Kai Tak handled more than 1.56 million tonnes of
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