XN000022-1978-08-03 — Page 5

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1978

CONTRACT SIGNED FOR REPROVISIONING OF

NORTH POINT VEHICULAR FERRY PIER

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THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TODAY AWARDED A $25 MILLION CONTRACT FOR THE REPROVISIONING OF THE NORTH POINT VEHICULAR FERRY PIER TO HARBOUR ENGINEERING COMPANY LIMITED.

THE CONTRACT IS PART OF THE FIRST STAGE OF THE $400 MILLION-PLUS HONG KONG ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR PROJECT,

IT WAS FORMALLY SIGNED THIS MORNING BY MR. IAN MILLER CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE CONSULTANTS MANAGEMENT DIVISION OF THE P.W.D.'S HIGHWAYS OFFICE AND MR. M. J. RYAN, GENERAL MANAGER, AND MR. T.P. MA, PROJECT DIRECTOR, OF THE HAROUR ENGINEERING COMPANY.

MR. MILLER SAID THAT THE NEW VEHICULAR FERRY PIER WOULD REPLACE THE EXISTING ONE WHICH WOULD HAVE TO BE DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF STAGE 1 OF THE COASTAL ROAD BETWEEN CAUSEWAY BAY AND SHAU KEI WAN.

WORK ON THE NEW PIER WILL START LATER THIS MONTH AND TAKE ABOUT 20 MONTHS TO COMPLETE,

+ THE NEW PIER, SITUATED ABOUT 30 METRES TO THE EAST OF THE EXISTING VEHICULAR FERRY PIER, WILL CONSIST ESSENTIALLY OF AN 80-ME TRE-LONG FINGER PIER AND ONE 22-METRE-WIDE APPROACH PLATFORM,+ MR. MILLER SAID.

ON COMPLETION, HE ADDED, THE EXISTING VEHICULAR FERRY SERVICE WOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO THE NEW PIER AND THE EXISTING PIER WOULD THEN BE DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ELEVATED ROADWAY.

REFERRING TO WORK ON OTHER CONTRACTS FOR THE FIRST STAGE OF THE ROAD PROJECT, MR. MILLER SAID: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A 390-ME TRE SEAWALL AND THE RECLAMATION OF THE NORTH-EASTERN CORNER OF THE CAUSEWAY BAY TYPHOON SHELTER ARE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS.

THE FIRST STAGE OF THE HONG KONG ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR CONSISTS OF A TWO-KILOMETRE ELEVATED ROAD RUNNING ALONG THE WATERFRONT FROM VICTORIA PARK TO HEALTHY STREET WEST IN NORTH POINT. IT IS SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED IN MID-1982.

IT WILL BE A FAST, HIGH-CAPACITY ROUTE WITH SIX LANES FOR TRAFFIC THREE IN EACH DIRECTION.

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THERE WILL BE A MAJOR INTERCHANGE AT EACH END OF THE HIGHWAY - ONE IN CAUSEWAY BAY GIVING ACCESS TO VICTORIA PARK ROAD AND HING FAT STREET, AND THE OTHER IN NORTH POINT WITH SLIP ROAD TO JAVA ROAD AND KING'S ROAD.

THE FLYOVER WILL ALSO BE LINKED WITH KING'S ROAD BY AN INTERSECTION ALONG TONG SHUI ROAD.

THE ENTIRE SCHEME, INVOLVING THE CONSTRUCTION OF A COASTAL ROAD FROM CAUSEWAY BAY TO SHAU KEI WAN, IS EXPECTED TO BE READY IN EARLY 1985.

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