1 HK$8b road projects planned to cope with Tseung Kwan O growth
Ng Kang-chung, SCMP 24 June 2008

Two road projects, to cost a total of HK$8.1 billion, are being planned to cope with growing traffic in the rapidly expanding satellite town of Tseung Kwan O in eastern Kowloon.

A core part of the programme will be a 3km tunnel between Tseung Kwan O and Lam Tin, part of a four-lane divided highway 4.8km long connecting the satellite town with Lam Tin, where it will connect with a proposed trunk road to link with the Kai Tak development area.

The HK$5.9 billion tunnel project is aimed at easing the load of the existing Tseung Kwan O Tunnel Road, the only major road link with downtown eastern Kowloon.

According to an assessment by the Transport and Housing Bureau, the existing tunnel will start experiencing serious congestion after 2016.

To supplement the project, a new HK$2.2 billion road will also be built, providing alternative access to southeastern Tseung Kwan O. At present, Wan Po Road is the only road to the area. The Tseung Kwan O industrial-estate area would be seriously affected if Wan Po Road were blocked by a traffic accident.

Both road projects are targeted for completion in 2016. Sai Kung district councillor Frankie Lam Siu-chung welcomed the plan and urged the government to speed up the projects.

"New links are badly needed for Tseung Kwan O. It is not satisfactory that a community with a population of about 400,000 has to rely on one major highway.

"Actually, it is too long a wait for Tseung Kwan O residents if the projects cannot be finished until 2016," he said.

The government plans to seek Legco approval for funding of about HK$256.7 million for project studies and site investigation work.