THE PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO CHINA AND HONG KONG 2 - 5 SEPTEMBER 1991
BRIEF BY TRAFALGAR HOUSE PLC ON THE HONG KONG AIRPORT PROJECT
A key component of the Airport Project is the Lantau Fixed Crossing, comprising two bridges, the larger one to be a suspension bridge, the second more likely to be a cable-stayed bridge. Tenders for the suspension bridge were issued on 31 July, the first of the contracts among the ten Core Projects identified in the Memorandum of Understanding.
It will have a main span of 1,377 metres, and will be the second longest in the world after the Humber Bridge, at 1,410 metres. Unlike Humber, it will
carry a twin-track railway as well as dual 3-lane road carriageways. This
adds significantly to the load it must bear and it will be by some way the longest bridge of its type in the world, posing a considerable engineering
challenge.
There is limited technical expertise worldwide in this type of structural
engineering. British expertise and experience is among the best. Trafalgar House companies have constructed several of the world's longest span bridges, including Humber (completed in 1981), the first Bosporus bridge in
Turkey and the Forth and Severn bridges in the UK. Europe's longest
cable-stayed bridge, over the Thames at Dartford, is due for completion in October by a consortium of Trafalgar House companies. The only comparable recent experience in this field is Japanese.
In 1989, when Hong Kong's plans for the Airport first became known, Trafalgar House took the initiative to propose co-operation between British and Japanese companies so that the Hong Kong Government could be offered the best possible technical solution for the bridges in a timescale that would
meet its ambitious programme for the opening of the Airport.
After discussion with DTI a joint venture company, Anglo Japanese Construction Limited ("AJCL"), was formed by Trafalgar House, Costain and Mitsui and Co. of Japan, (Mitsui is Japan's oldest and largest trading house,
active in many fields including engineering and construction) and received
DTI backing under the Overseas Project Fund.
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