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Purpose of the Bill
The Bill now before Honourable Members provides for the award of a 30 year franchise to the Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited to build and operate the Tai Lam Tunnel and Yuen Long Approach Road. The tunnel and the approach road will form an integral part of Route 3, providing a vital strategic corridor serving the Northwestern part of the New Territories. This will be a dual-3 lane facility about 10 km in length, linking Ting Kau Bridge in the south and the New Territories Circular Road at Au Tau in the north, together with an interchange to connect with the Yuen Long Southern Bypass.
Importance of the Project
Members of this Council and the Administration have long shared a common objective: to secure the early construction of the Tai Lam Tunnel and Yuen Long Approach Road Sections of the Route 3 Country Park Section. The project is urgently needed to provide relief for traffic congestion in the Northwest NT, particularly along Tuen Mun Road. Upon its completion, the journey time between Ting Kau and Au Tau will take about 10 minutes. This compares very favourably with travel via Tuen Mun Road, which at present can take up to 50 minutes or even longer, depending on traffic conditions. What is equally significant is that upon the opening of the new facility, we expect traffic congestion in Tuen Mun Road to be reduced by about 25%.
The new road will also facilitate cross-border traffic, which is vital to our economy, and it will allow further development in the North West NT.
The Proposed Franchise
Our proposal is to implement this project under the terms of a "Build, Operate and Transfer" franchise. This is in line with the Government's policy of optimising private sector participation in the construction and operation of our road infrastructure. Otherwise, Government resources in the region of over $7 billion would have had to be allocated to this project, at the expense of other vital community projects.
The proposed franchise is modelled on that awarded in respect of the Western Harbour Crossing. The project documentation consists of the Bill before Members today, which seeks to award the franchise, and the Project Agreement which defines in detail the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance requirements. We propose in Clause 4 of the Bill that the BOT franchise should be awarded to the Route 3 (CPS) Company Limited. The package offered by that Company is the best bid received following a very competitive tendering exercise and intensive negotiations. Mr President, let me now highlight some of its key features.