- There are four major projects in the city: the Sha Tin-Central rail link, Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai checkpoint, Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin tunnel and Central Kowloon Route
- Commuter concern group spokesperson Quentin Cheng says government should redevelop old towns so people do not have to go to Kowloon or Central for work
The long-awaited Sha Tin-Central rail link, Hong Kong's most expensive rail project, partially opened on Valentine's Day, running between Tai Wai and Kai Tak through Hin Keng and Diamond Hill.
The partial opening provided passengers with a more efficient and convenient access from the New Territories East to East Kowloon and Hong Kong Island East.
As the city's population is expected to burgeon from the present 7.5 million to 7.78 million by 2025, concerns have been raised over whether Hong Kong's infrastructure development can cope with the corresponding growth in transport demand.
With the Hong Kong government's track record of bad economic projections, cost overruns, and project delays, the question remains whether various new infrastructure projects will cater adequately to the needs of Hongkongers. The coronavirus outbreak also poses daunting challenge for these projects.
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What are the key infrastructure projects in place for Hong Kong in the next five years?
There are four in the pipeline. The first one is the HK$99.1-billion Sha Tin to Central rail link comprising 10 stations, divided into two sections " Tai Wai to Hung Hom and Hung Hom to Admiralty. The first section was expected to open in mid 2019, after an earlier target of December 2018 was pushed back by construction delays.
Plagued by allegations of shoddy work at the link's Hung Hom station in 2018, the section was further delayed by reinforcement work at the station and is expected to open at the end of 2021.
Work on the section between Hung Hom and Admiralty is delayed until the first quarter of 2022 from the already revised target of late 2021. The rail giant blamed the delay on vandalism of another line amid the ongoing anti-government protests.
Then comes the HK$33.7 billion Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai boundary control point in the northeastern New Territories, the eighth land-based border checkpoint with the mainland, to open this year.
Started in 2013, the project will connect to the Shenzhen Eastern Corridor in Shenzhen and provide easier access to eastern Guangdong and adjacent provinces. Designed to handle 17,850 vehicle trips and 30,000 passenger trips a day, the border crossing was expected to be complete by 2018.
The HK$15-billion Tseung Kwan O (TKO)-Lam Tin tunnel is expected to be complete in 2021. It comprises the construction of a 3.8-km dual two-lane carriageway connecting Po Shun Road and the Cross Bay Link in the east with the Lam Tin Interchange and Eastern Harbour Crossing in the west. It will be an alternative route to the TKO Tunnel for coping with traffic demand arising from development works in the Tseung Kwan O and Kwun Tong districts.
The HK$42.4-billion Central Kowloon Route is set to be complete in 2025. It will be a 4.7km dual three-lane strategic trunk road linking the Yau Ma Tei Interchange in West Kowloon with Kai Tak in East Kowloon.
We do not need the Liantang port. This control point is built to cater to Shenzhen's development, rather than serving the interests of HongkongersQuentin Cheng, spokesman, Public Transport Research Team
What is their impact on Hong Kong's society and economy?
The Sha Tin-Central link is expected to relieve road traffic congestion and divert passengers using the section between Tai Wai to Kowloon Tong to resolve the bottlenecks on the East Rail Line. It will also make commuting between East Kowloon and New Territories East easier.
The Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai boundary control point aims to strengthen Hong Kong's connectivity with the Greater Bay Area, a development blueprint aiming to link Hong Kong, Macau, and nine mainland cities in Guangdong province to form an innovation and tech hub.
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It is expected to facilitate smooth and efficient traffic flow across the boundary, and will support Hong Kong's long-term economic growth.
The TKO-Lam Tin tunnel is expected to ease the current traffic load off the highly-congested Tseung Kwan O Tunnel, the main connection between Tseung Kwan O and East Kowloon. It will also help to cope with the projected future traffic demand arising from construction works going on in the area " such as Tseung Kwan O Town Centre South and the remaining phases at Lohas Park.
The tunnel will also provide a more direct route for travel between Tiu Keng Leng and Eastern Harbour Tunnel, cutting the travelling distance from 7km to 4.2km, and improving the traffic conditions in Kwun Tong.
The Central Kowloon Route is expected to relieve traffic congestion on the existing east-west roads across Central Kowloon by reducing journey time between Yau Ma Tei and Kowloon Bay during peak hours to about 5 minutes. The government estimated the proposed project would create about 4,800 jobs providing a total employment of about 390,000 man-months.
The government should set its sight on redeveloping the old towns so residents there do not need to travel a long way to Kowloon or Central for workQuentin Cheng, spokesman, Public Transport Research Team
Are there any pitfalls to these projects?
Quentin Cheng Hin-kei, spokesman for commuter concern group Public Transport Research Team, said the planned projects were all good for the city's development, except for the Liantang checkpoint.
"We do not need the Liantang port. It is completely redundant. Hong Kong already has too many border crossings. Actually this control point is built to cater to Shenzhen's development, rather than serving the interests of Hongkongers," he said.
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Regarding the city's long-term development, Cheng said the government should think outside the box to create more economic activities in the old towns in the New Territories.
"The government should set its sight on redeveloping the old towns so residents there do not need to travel a long way to Kowloon or Central for work. It will save them a lot of time and also ease traffic congestion. Relying on new transport projects to solve traffic problems is not a solution," he said.
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