CONFIDENTIAL
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CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 2647
OF 030501Z SEPTEMBER 90
INFO PRIORITY DTI, PEKING, BTC HONG KONG
TOP COPY Q DIST?
HKC 182/2
RECEIVED IN SE/
Y
DTI FOR ADAMS, HEAD OF PEP
?
BTC'S TELNO 187: HONG KONG AIRPORT PROJECT.
-
05 SEP 1990
SK
1 REMARKS FROM THE CHIEF SECRETARY SUBSEQUENT TO THE MISQUOTED COMMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO MRS ANSON CHAN, WIDELY REPORTED IN THE LOCAL MEDIA, HAVE CLARIFIED THE POSITION THERE WAS NO QUESTION OF SHELVING ANY AIRPORT-RELATED PROJECT. THE RAIL LINK WOULD CERTAINLY BE REQUIRED BUT COMPARED WITH, SAY, THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING, IT WAS NOT ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT THE RAILWAY MUST BE OPEN ON THE SAME DAY WHEN THE NEW AIRPORT COMMENCES OPERATION. APPROPRIATE PHASING HAS ALWAYS BEEN ENVISAGED FOR THE PADS PROGRAMME. ACCORDING TO TUR, MR WU MENTIONED THE NEED FOR AN EXPANDED OVERGROUND NETWORK. WE OF COURSE HAVE NO INTENTION OF ALLOWING A THIRD RAILWAY OPERATOR. MTRC IS MOST UNLIKELY TO BE CONVINCED OF THE VIABILITY OF WU'S PROPOSED RAIL SYSTEM.
2. SINCE MR GORDON WU HAD PUT FORWARD HIS PRELIMINARY VIEWS REGARDING THE NEW AIRPORT OVER THREE YEARS AGO, THERE HAD BEEN REGULAR AND LENGTHY EXCHANGES OF VIEWS BETWEEN MR WU AND SENIOR HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS. THE MOST RECENT DISCUSSION TOOK PLACE ON 6 AUGUST WHEN THE CHIEF SECRETARY INVITED MR WU TO LUNCH TO DISCUSS HIS PROPOSALS. SEPARATELY, OUR PADS PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT, MR TOWNSEND OF BECHTEL, ALSO HAD A THREE-HOUR DISCUSSION WITH MR WU.
3. IT IS NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR AS TO WHETHER THE WU 'REPORT' WAS ACTUALLY 'COMMISSIONED' BY CHINA OR WHETHER IT WAS VOLUNTEERED.
BUT NCNA HAD DENIED THAT IT HAD ACTUALLY 'COMMISSIONED' A REPORT FROM MR WU. WE HAVE JUST RECEIVED THE WU 'REPORT' BUT WE ALREADY HAVE SOME IDEA AS TO THE DETAILS OF HIS ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS REGARDING ACCESS TO CHEK LAP KOK. THE ORIENTATION OF THIS PROPOSALS SEEMS TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY LINKED TO HIS SHENZHEN GUANGZHOU HIGHWAY PROJECT AND ARE COUCHED ON OVER-SIMPLIFIED ASSUMPTIONS OF PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT IN SUPPORT OF VIABILITY. THEY
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ALSO COMPLETELY IGNORE THE STRATEGIC LOCATION AND ALIGNMENT OF
THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING (LFC) IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE OVERALL TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR HONG KONG. THE LFC, APART FROM LINKING THE CLK AIRPORT, IS ALSO INTEGRATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROUTE 3, THE WEST KOWLOON EXPRESSWAY AND THE WESTERN HARBOUR CROSSING WHICH, ALTOGETHER, WILL PROVIDE A MUCH NEEDED ADDITIONAL CORRIDOR BETWEEN SHENZHEN, N-W NEW TERRITORIES AND HK ISLAND WITHOUT ADDING TO THE BURDEN ON THE TRANSPORT NETWORK IN URBAN
KOWLOON AND WILL RELIEF SIGNIFICANTLY HEAVY CONGESTION AT THE
TSUEN WAN/KWAI CHUNG AREA.
4. GORDON WU'S MA WAN BRIDGE WILL ADD TO, NOT REDUCE, THE PRESSURE ON THE TSUEN WAN/KWAI CHUNG AREA. SUCH A CROSSING WILL UNACCEPTABLY ADD TO THE TRAFFIC LOADS ON THE TUEN MUN HIGHWAY AND ON TSUEN WAN WHERE THERE ARE ALREADY SEVERE CONGESTION AT CERTAIN INTERCHANGES AND THE SCOPE FOR EXPANDING ROAD CAPACITY IS HIGHLY RESTRICTED BY EXISTING LAND USE.
5. THERE ARE VERY GOOD REASONS TO PLACE THE GREEN ISLAND CROSSING
AT THE LATER STAGES IN THE PROGRAMME. SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT OF THE DEMAND FOR SERVICES TO THE NEW AIRPORT WILL COME FROM KOWLOON AND THE ROUTING VIA THE LFC IS OBVIOUSLY THE PRIORITY ITEM IN THE OVERALL PROGRAMMING OF THE PROJECTS. THE TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE GREEN ISLAND LINK HAVE YET TO BE FULLY ASSESSED. THE WESTERN HARBOUR IS NOT UNIVERSALLY SHALLOW AND IS UNDERLAIN BY MUD DEPOSITS. TO HAVE THE MA WAN BRIDGE AND THE GREEN ISLAND CROSSING AT ONE GO WOULD SEEM TO BE AN EVEN RISKIER PROPOSITION, BOTH TECHNICALLY AND FINANCIALLY.
6. MR WU'S LATEST PROPOSALS DO NOT HAVE THE SUPPORT OF THE OTHER PARTNERS OF THE ORIGINAL CONSORTIUM (I.E. CHEUNG KONG HOLDINGS AND HUTCHISON) WHO TOGETHER WITH HOPEWELL MADE THE PORT AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS IN NOVEMBER 1986.
·
7 A WORKING GROUP HAS BEEN FORMED WITHIN HKG, WITH ASSISTANCE FROM BECHTEL TO EXAMINE THE GORDON WU 'REPORT' AND TO COMPILE A DETAILED AND SUBSTANTIVE RESPONSE WHICH SHOULD BE AVAILABLE IN
THREE TO FOUR WEEKS' TIME.
WILSON
YYYY
2
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