ITEM FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUBCOMMITTEE OF FINANCE COMMITTEE

HEAD 707 - NEW TOWNS AND URBAN AREA DEVELOPMENT

New Territories West Development

(Transport - Footbridges and pedestrian tunnels)

122TB - Construction of two bridges and roads and drains to serve the housing site in area 18, Tuen Mun

Members are invited to recommend to Finance Committee the upgrading of 122TB to Category A, retitled "Construction of two bridges and roads in area 18, Tuen Mun", at an estimated cost of $123.4 million in money-of-the-day prices.

PROBLEM
PROPOSAL
PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE
JUSTIFICATION
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
PUBLIC CONSULTATION
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS
LAND ACQUISITION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION

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PROBLEM

Tuen Mun area 18 does not have pedestrian links with adjacent areas. It also lacks a cycle track and access for emergency vehicles.

PROPOSAL

2. The Director of Territory Development, with the support of the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, proposes to upgrade 122TB to Category A at an estimated cost of $123.4 million in money-of-the-day (MOD) prices for the construction of two bridges, a cycle track and emergency vehicular access in area 18, Tuen Mun.

PROJECT SCOPE AND NATURE

3. The scope of the project comprises the construction of -

1. a footbridge of 80 metres main crossing over Lung Mun Road;
2. a combined pedestrian/cycle bridge of 110 metres main crossing over the Tuen Mun Nullah;
3. an 800 metre cycle track; and
4. a 550 metre combined footway and emergency vehicular access with associated drainage works.

JUSTIFICATION

4. At present, there is no pedestrian crossing over Lung Mun Road linking the San Shek Wan Light Rail Transit (LRT) stop in area 19 of Tuen Mun with the private sector participation scheme (PSPS) site in area 18, where the Director of Housing proposes to provide a total of 6 900 flats to house 22 000 people by 1998. We need to construct a footbridge across Lung Mun Road to provide a safe grade-separated crossing for the residents to reach the LRT stop. The footbridge can cope with a flow of 3 600 pedestrians per hour in both directions.

5. We are providing a comprehensive cycle track system in Tuen Mun as an important recreational facility for the local community. So far, we have provided about ten kilometres of cycle tracks in the Tuen Mun New Town. The proposed cycle track in Tuen Mun area 18 will form part of the cycle track system.

6. We need to construct a combined pedestrian/cycle bridge over the Tuen Mun Nullah to link up pedestrian walkways and cycle tracks on both sides of the Nullah. The proposed bridge will be important for residents in area 18 as the nearest nullah crossing, for both pedestrians and cyclists, is currently some 650 metres to the north of the proposed bridge. The bridge will have a capacity of 4 500 pedestrians and 800 cyclists per hour in both directions.

7. We also need to construct a combined footway and emergency vehicular access with associated drainage works for fire fighting and emergency use to cope with the residential development over the podium of the adjacent LRT depot and the PSPS development.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

8. We estimate the capital cost of the project to be $123.4 million in MOD prices (see paragraph 9 below), made up as follows -

9. Subject to approval, we will phase expenditure as follows -

10. We have derived the MOD estimate on the basis of the Government's forecasts of trend labour and construction prices for the period 1996 to 2000. We will tender the proposed works under a lump-sum contract because we have firm quantities for the majority of the works. We will provide for inflation adjustment in the contract because the construction period will last longer than 21 months.

11. We estimate the annually recurrent expenditure to be $629,000.

PUBLIC CONSULTATION

12. We consulted the Environmental Improvement and District Development Committee of the Tuen Mun District Board on the proposed works on 18 May 1995. The Committee had no objection to the proposal. We gazetted the proposed works under Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance on 22 December 1995. We received no objections.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

13. The Director of Environmental Protection completed an Environmental Review for the project in March 1995 and concluded that no Environmental Impact Assessment would be necessary. For short term impacts, we will contain dust, noise and run-off impacts during construction to within established standards/guidelines by incorporating appropriate environmental pollution control clauses in the contract.

LAND ACQUISITION

14. The project does not require any land acquisition.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

15. We included 122TB in Category B in April 1995.

16. We have engaged consultants to undertake detailed design and investigations of the proposed works, and charged the cost of $3.8 million to the block allocation 7008CX "Consultants' fees and charges and major in-house investigations for new towns and urban area development projects". The consultants have completed the detailed design and working drawings.

17. The proposed works are scheduled to start in August 1996 for completion in May 1998.

(HH377)

122TB - Construction of two bridges and roads and drains to

serve the housing site in area 18, Tuen Mun

*MPS = Master Pay Scale

Notes

1. A multiplier factor of 3 is applied to the average MPS point to arrive at the full staff costs including the consultants' overheads and profit, as the staff will be employed in the consultants' offices. (At 1.4.95, MPS pt. 40 = $51,440 p.m. and MPS pt. 16 = $17,270 p.m.)

2. The figures given above are based on estimates prepared by the Director of Territory Development. The consultancy works for this project is included as part of the overall consultancy agreement for New Town Development at Tuen Mun.

(HH377)

Checklist for PWSC Submission

122TB - Construction of two bridges and roads and drains to serve the housing site in area 18, Tuen Mun

(a) Necessity to go to the PWSC

We need to seek the PWSC/FC's funding approval for upgrading of 122TB to Category A before inviting tenders for the construction works.

(b) Authority

The project has the policy support of SPEL.

(c) Funding

The current project estimate is $102.6 million at December 1995 prices. The 1996 RAE Preamble has earmarked $108.04 million at the same price level. There are sufficient funds to cover the cost of the proposed works.

(d) Political assessment

We do not consider upgrading the project a politically contentious issue.

(e) Clearance with District Officer

We have cleared the "Public Consultation" paragraph with the District Officer.

(f) Consultation with LegCo Panel

We do not consider this project a major or potentially controversial proposal and we did not consult the LegCo Panel.

(g) Lobbying requirement

We consider lobbying not necessary.

(h) Fallback option

If Members object to the projects, we would withdraw the paper, make necessary amendments and re-submit it at a subsequent meeting.

(i) Attendance at the PWSC meeting

The Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands (Mr. Bowen Leung) and the Director of Territory Development (Mr. S S Lee) will attend the meeting.

(j) Special consideration

We need to start the works as soon as possible. Any delay of the project will mean that the first residents of the public housing development will not have convenient and safe accesses to the nearby areas.

(HH377)

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