ENG-1993 — Page 311

THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME

main span of about 1.4 kilometres will be the world's longest carrying both road and railway, and its concrete towers will be 206 metres tall, as high as some of the tallest office buildings in Central District. Construction of the Tsing Ma Bridge was about 37 per cent complete at the end of the year. Design of the Kap Shui Mun Bridge was underway, with preliminary site clearance and physical works starting concurrently in March 1993.

The North Lantau Expressway will be a 12.5-kilometre dual, three-lane carriageway along the northern coast of Lantau, linking the Lantau Fixed Crossing to Tung Chung new town and the airport at Chek Lap Kok. Construction of the expressway is being carried out in three sections. Work on the Tai Ho and Yam O sections started in 1992 and were about 51 per cent and 25 per cent complete, respectively, at the year's end. The contract to construct the Tung Chung section was awarded in September 1993.

Airport Railway

The 34-kilometre airport railway has been planned to provide two separate rail services, operating mainly on the same tracks but with separate platforms. These will be: a fast passenger link to the airport at Chek Lap Kok, called the Airport Express, and a domestic service called the Lantau Line. Both will have maximum operating speeds of 135 kilometres per hour, compared to 80 kilometres per hour on existing Mass Transit Railway (MTR) lines.

The Airport Express is designed as an all-seated, business class-type express service providing a 23-minute link between the Central District on Hong Kong Island and the airport, with only two stops at Kowloon and Tsing Yi. It is envisaged that six-car trains will be used initially at eight-minute frequencies, increasing, as required, to a maximum of 10-car trains, operating at 4.5-minute frequencies.

Serving northern Lantau, western Kowloon, and Central, the Lantau Line is designed as a conventional mass transit commuter service. It will bring much needed relief to the MTR's Tsuen Wan Line, particularly along the Nathan Road Corridor where the railway is presently carrying its capacity of 77 500 passengers during the morning peak hours. Stations are planned at Central, West Kowloon, Tai Kok Tsui, Lai King, Tsing Yi and Tung Chung new town, with provision for additional stations later.

Five sites, totalling approximately 62 hectares, have been identified along the railway route for residential and commercial property development. They are at Central, West Kowloon, Tai Kok Tsui, Tsing Yi and Tung Chung.

During 1993, the MTRC carried out detailed design and planning work for the railway. Tender documentation was well advanced and the corporation began calling tenders for civil, electrical and mechanical works.

To avoid interface problems that may arise between the government works on the Central reclamation and the MTRC's railway station works, the government has entrusted management of the Phase I Central reclamation work to the corporation. Work on this $1.7 billion (MOD) contract commenced on September 1. The contract will provide the site for the railway's Hong Kong Central station, which will be the terminus for both the Lantau Line and the Airport Express Line.

Government Contracts and Tenders

A total of 34 government construction contracts, worth about $31.3 billion, had been awarded by the end of 1993. Sixteen of these contracts, worth more than $12 billion, were

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