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"The Provisional Airport Authority's physical works at the Chek Lap Kok new airport will be substantially complete by mid-1997. Allowing nine months for commissioning, trial operations, and planning the move from Kai Tak, we expect the new airport to be open in April 1998, subject to early conclusion of the remaining key franchises agreements.
"As for the airport railway, works will be substantially complete in April 1998, with opening scheduled in June 1998 after a period of tests and trial running," he said.
In a round-up of works progress in the first half of the year, Mr Lam said a number of major milestones had been achieved in the past six months.
These included the following:
The new airport
The Provisional Airport Authority (PAA) has awarded a total of 34 major contracts with a total value of over $29.8 billion for the new airport at Chek Lap Kok.
Formation of the 1,248 hectare airport platform was completed in mid- June. The platform is about four times the size of the existing airport at Kai Tak. In late January this year, the PAA awarded a $10.1 billion contract, the biggest awarded for the entire ACP, for the construction of the passenger terminal building structure. Construction of the new airport entered a new phase of activity with the award of this contract, work on the new airport has moved from the site formation to the building phase of construction activity.
Work on the new airport is now about 36 per cent complete.
The Lantau Fixed Crossing
The contract for building the 2.2 kilometre Tsing Ma Bridge, one of the two bridges which form the Lantau Fixed Crossing connecting north Lantau to Tsing Yi, is already 76 per cent complete, only 37 months into the five-year contract. In mid-March, aerial spinning of the main span cables was completed on schedule. The construction of the bridge deck is scheduled to begin later this month. The bridge is already becoming a new landmark for Hong Kong.