ENG-1992 — Page 289

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AIRPORT

Government works departments, and non-government participants such as the Pro- visional Airport Authority, MTRC, and the Western Harbour Crossing franchisee, have full responsibility for their own project-level planning, execution, control, and manage- ment. They are required to complete projects on time and within budget and to report progress, and co-ordinate their work, through NAPCO.

Comprising government staff integrated with consultants from International Bechtel, NAPCO's job is to ensure compliance with plans, programmes and budgets, and to act as a focal point for the management of project interfaces and resolution of problems.

Apart from the cost control systems, the highly competitive tendering system has also been effective in controlling expenditure on the ACP.

Protecting the Environment

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies have been undertaken for each of the projects, sometimes at both the feasibility and detailed design stages, and as an integral part of project planning and design. These studies have generally shown that, with suitable mitigation measures in place, the projects will be environmentally acceptable when they are built and operating.

The island formed at Chek Lap Kok by the airport reclamation will allow tidal water to flow between the airport and the north Lantau coastline, flushing partially enclosed areas of water to the east. Most of the natural coastline to the west of Tung Chung will be retained. Following ecological studies, a colony of rare Romer's tree frogs has been rescued from Chek Lap Kok. Mangrove communities are also to be re-established, and compensatory new woodlands are to be planted.

An environmental project office has been established by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to monitor pollution in the West Kowloon area during work on the reclamation and associated transport projects. The office consists of senior EPD staff and a specialist consultancy team with experience. It will monitor overall environmental quality and handle pollution problems.

Safety at Work

The government continued to promote safety at work, and began to implement a package of safety measures on the ACP construction sites. The Airport Core Programme Construction Safety Manual was published in July 1992, setting out the government's policy and objectives, and safety measures.

These requirements are being incorporated in each contract to ensure there is an effective safety management system on sites, including a special site management committee. Accident prevention and safety management training courses are being organised for site staff.

The government, together with the Provisional Airport Authority and MTRC, started compiling a database to assist with the monitoring of accident rates, analysis of the causes of accidents, and formulation of prevention measures. Safety promotion campaigns and awards are being organised to increase awareness, especially among construction workers. The MTRC and Provisional Airport Authority have agreed to implement similar

measures.