ENG-1994 — Page 334

THE AIRPORT CORE PROGRAMME

292

presently carrying its capacity of 80 000 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 1994, the MTRC continued with the detailed design and planning work for the railway. Route protection works had commenced. Work on the $600 million immersed tube tunnel contract for the harbour crossing of the railway started in June. In November and December, the MTRC awarded 20 more civil, electrical and mechanical works contracts at a total cost of about $11 billion. The corporation also received tenders in November for the property development at Tung Chung and Tai Kok Tsui stations.

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 Central Reclamation Phase I work to the corporation. Work on this $1.7 billion (MOD) contract commenced in September 1993 and is progressing well. The contract will provide the site for the railway's Hong Kong Station, which will be the terminus for both the Lantau Line and the Airport Express Line. In September, the MTRC immersed its advance tunnel unit of the airport railway under the Central reclamation contract.

Contracts and Tenders

Up to the end of 1994, a total of 63 government construction contracts, worth about $35.5 billion, had been awarded. They represented about 87 per cent of the total value of the government's ACP contracts. Seventeen major contracts worth about $13.5 billion had been awarded by the PAA. They included the contracts for the airport advance works, airport site preparation works, automated people-mover system, baggage-handling system, foundations for the passenger terminal, raw water submarine pipeline, temporary utilities, roads and bridges, workforce accommodation, temporary ferry piers, a power sub-station and supply of aggregates. The MTRC had also awarded 21 civil, electrical and mechanical works contracts at a total cost of about $11.4 billion. One major construction contract had been awarded by the WHTC at a cost of $5.7 billion.

The government, PAA, MTRC and WHTC welcome international participation in the contracts and strictly apply the traditional 'level playing field' approach on tendering procedures and the award of contracts.

A significant number of international companies, from a wide range of countries, have won the ACP contracts, often in joint ventures. By the end of 1994, Japan had won the largest share by value with 25 per cent of the total, followed by Hong Kong (21 per cent), the United Kingdom (13 per cent), the Netherlands (eight per cent), France (eight per cent), the People's Republic of China (seven per cent), Belgium (four per cent), Spain (three per cent), Australia (3.2 per cent), the United States of America (2.2 per cent), Germany (two per cent), New Zealand (2.3 per cent), Italy (0.7 per cent), South Africa (0.3 per cent) and Austria (0.2 per cent). Firms winning consultancies have come from the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, France, New Zealand, Germany and Hong Kong.