XN000022-1994-12-26+27 — Page 6

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Work on building the main towers of the 820-metre cable- stayed Kap Shui Mun Bridge, between Ma Wan and Lantau, began in March, and the first concrete deck sections for the side spans were erected in September.

Notable achievements in the highways projects have been the break- through for the 1.6-kilometre Cheung Ching Tunnel, part of the Tsing Yi section of Route 3.

Construction of spans is under way for both the Route 3 Rambler Channel Bridge and the northern, elevated section of the West Kowloon Expressway.

On the North Lantau Expressway, being built under three main contracts, it is now possible to drive a works vehicle from one end of the 12.5- kilometre route to the other.

The reclamation work in West Kowloon, which is producing 334 hectares of new land between Mei Foo and Yau Ma Tei, is over 90 per cent completed.

Nearly all waterfront facilities including the Cheung Sha Wan wholesale market, the Yau Ma Tei typhoon shelter and public cargo working area, have been reprovisioned under the project. Works are now focused on the remaining reclamation and the hinterland drainage and sewerage improvement works.

In Central, the Phase I reclamation, which is an ACP project, will create 20 hectares of land, part of which will be used for the underground Hong Kong Station of the Airport Railway. Already, about six hectares of land have been formed where Blake Pier once stood.

On the Western Harbour Crossing franchise project, the 35,000-tonne concrete units for the immersed tube section are being cast at Shek O. The first batch of four units--there will be 12 in all--is expected to be floated shortly to a holding area at Tseung Kwan O.

The first unit will be submerged into its prepared trench on the Hong Kong side of the tunnel early in the new year. Various other works on the tunnel project have been progressing steadily on both sides of the harbour.