INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
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Shui/Lok Ma Chau Spur Line. This Spur Line will be connected to the Huanggang Station of the new Shenzhen Metro via a rail passenger footbridge at Huanggang/ Lok Ma Chau.
The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRC) is building an extension of its railway from the Lam Tin Station to the new town of Tseung Kwan O, where the population is projected to grow from 250 000 in 1999 to 520 000 by 2010. Work on the 12.5-kilometre extension began in 1998 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2002.
The MTRC is also working on technical plans for a 3.5-kilometre shuttle link that will connect its Tung Chung Line (at a new Yam O Station) to the Hong Kong Disneyland at Penny's Bay, Lantau Island. This link is expected to be completed in 2005.
Six new projects have been identified for implementation under the Government's Railway Development Strategy 2000 announced in May, following the completion of the Second Railway Development Study earlier in the year. The projects earmarked in the preferred expansion of the railway network up to around 2016 are: Sha Tin to Central Link, Island Line Extensions, Kowloon Southern Link, Northern Link, Regional Express Line and Port Rail Line.
Road Projects
Several strategic road projects are under study and design with the aim of further expanding Hong Kong's road network, which at the end of 2000 totalled 1904 kilometres. Two of the projects involve more large-span bridges: the Tsing Lung Bridge and the Stonecutters Bridge.
The Tsing Lung Bridge, connecting Tsing Lung Tau and North Lantau, will be a landmark structure on the North Lantau to Yuen Long Highway section of Route 10. The structure will be the third longest suspension bridge in the world, having a 1 418- metre main span 41 metres longer than the Tsing Ma Bridge, which opened in 1997. Together with the proposed Deep Bay Link, Route 10 will form part of the strategic road network being developed to meet the growing cross-boundary traffic demands. Construction work is expected to start in 2002 for completion in 2007.
The Stonecutters Bridge will be located across the entrance to the Kwai Chung Container Terminals, and be a key component of the section of Route 9 linking Tsing Yi Island and Cheung Sha Wan in West Kowloon. Given its prominent location within Victoria Harbour, an international competition has been held to select the best design. The Stonecutters Bridge, planned as a cable-stayed structure, will have a span of about 1000 metres. Construction is expected to start in 2003 for completion in 2008.
The Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor connection, which are about four kilometres in length and largely in the form of a tunnel, will provide long-term relief to the traffic congestion along the Connaught Road Central Harcourt Road - Gloucester Road corridor at the north shore of Hong Kong Island. Completion is targeted for 2010.
Expansion of Information Technology
The Cyberport project, announced in 1999, has become a tangible symbol of Hong Kong's leap into the 21st century's world of innovation and technology. The