LegCo Panel on Transport
Tsing Ma Control Area

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Purpose
I. Government Monitoring Team (GMT)

Scope of Responsibilities of GMT
Transport Department

• Monitoring TMCA Operator's work (8 officers)
• Consequential Staffing Requirements Arising from Opening of TMCA and Associated Roads and Developments (21 officers)
Highways Department

• Monitoring TMCA Operator's work (10 officers)
• Consequential staffing requirements arising from the opening of the TMCA (4 officers)
• Supporting staff (11 officers)
Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

• Monitoring TMCA Operator's work
Additional work arising from the Opening of the TMCA
II. Other relevant matters

Contingency plans for closure of the Lantau Link and North Lantau Expressway
Staffing of TMCA operator
Traffic forecasts for the Lantau Link and arrangements for dumped vehicles
TMCA Contract Operational and Financial Monitoring Team
Work Comparison for TD's Monitoring Teams
Workload Ananlysis of the Prosecutions Unit and Estimate of the additional work
Work Comparison for TD's Highway Surveillance and Systems Division
Work Comparison for TD's Regional Offices
Justification for GMT in Highways Department
Comparison between TMCA and Government Tunnels

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Purpose

This paper sets out the Administration's response to queries raised by Members in relation to the Government Monitoring Team for the Tsing Ma Control Area (TMCA) and other relevant matters at the meeting of the Panel on Transport on 10 January 1997.

I. Government Monitoring Team (GMT)

Scope of Responsibilities of GMT

2. The responsibilities of the GMT of 66 posts can be categorised as follows:–

1. monitoring the Operator in discharging their contractual commitments under the Management, Operation and Maintenance (MOM) Contract for the TMCA;
2. discharging other responsibilities in the TMCA and associated roads and developments which are not covered by the MOM Contract.

Details of these two categories of work for the Transport Department, Highways Department, and Electrical and Mechanical Services Department are set out in the following paragraphs.

Transport Department

Monitoring TMCA Operator's work (8 officers)

3. Given the strategic importance of the TMCA which will serve as the sole access to the new Airport, the TMCA Operator will have to be closely monitored to ensure that safe, efficient and uninterrupted access to the airport is maintained at all times. The team will comprise eight professional and operational staff as follows -

• 1 Chief Transport Officer (MPS 45-49)

• 2 Senior Transport Officers

• 1 Transport Officer I

• 1 Transport Officer II

• 2 Transport Controllers

• 1 Accounting Officer I

4. This will be the first time that Transport Department (TD) monitors the management and operation of an expressway, bridge and tunnel system as complex and strategically important as TMCA which includes Hong Kong's first road/rail suspension bridge. They will have to work closely with the Operator to develop the operating procedures and practices including arrangements for bridge closures during typhoons and major incidents. On the financial side, in view of the substantial toll income to be collected, they will have to ensure through close monitoring, regular reviews and audit checks that adequate controls are in place to protect Government revenue.

5. Before the TMCA opens in May 1997, the team's main duties will be to monitor the Operator's gearing up arrangements to ensure that the TMCA will be ready and well prepared for opening. After opening, the team will monitor the Operator's performance to ensure that its standards of performance meet the contract requirements and consider the need to impose financial penalties for any breaches; e.g. audit revenue and analyse the Operator's financial records; resolve contractual disputes; ensure smooth cooperation with operators of adjoining infrastructure in particular the Airport Railway; and investigate into complaints about the Operator. It is expected that numerous teething problems will need to be ironed out during the first two years of the contract.

6. The composition of the team will be reviewed in two years' time. Details of the duties of the team by rank are at Annex A(1). A comparison of the work of the team with that of the existing TD monitoring team for Government tunnels is at Annex A(2).

Consequential Staffing Requirements Arising from Opening of TMCA and Associated Roads and Developments (21 officers)

7. The opening of TMCA and associated roads and developments including North Lantau Expressway (NLE), West Kowloon Expressway (WKE) and Tung Chung New Town entails strengthening various divisions within TD to handle the additional work. A total of 21 staff will be required and will be reviewed in two years. Details of the staffing requirements are outlined below.

1. 24-hour Communication Centre (8 officers);
2. Prosecutions Unit (3 officers);
3. Highway Surveillance and Systems Division (2 officers);
4. Regional Offices (6 officers); and
5. Supporting staff for TMCA Monitoring Team (2 officers).

(a) 24-hour Communication Centre (8 officers)

8. Eight officers at the Transport Controller rank will be required. Their main duty is to provide round-the-clock manning of a communication centre to be set up in Transport Department's Headquarters. The communication centre will receive and disseminate messages to ensure prompt action on transport incidents and emergencies in TMCA and elsewhere in Hong Kong. Traffic conditions during emergencies can also be monitored through video links to the communication centre. The centre will also serve a secondary function of providing off-site monitoring of the Operator's performance 24 hours a day through the video links. This includes checking compliance with operating standards in respect of patrol frequency and the amount of time taken to respond to and clear incidents; and checking actions taken by the Operator during emergencies.

9. The team mentioned in paragraph 3 above will also be tasked to handle emergencies within the TMCA and the North Lantau Expressway, which will require the team to stand by on a 24-hour basis to carry out emergency coordination duties as required, and to manage the 24-hour communication centre.

(b) Prosecutions Unit (3 officers)

10. The existing Prosecutions Unit in TD needs to be strengthened to handle additional prosecution cases arising from the opening of the TMCA and the enactment of new TMCA legislation. Prompt prosecution action against offenders, e.g. for speeding and toll evasion, is necessary to provide effective deterrence.

11. Three additional officers comprising one Transport Officer II, one Senior Transport Inspector and one Clerical Officer II are proposed. A workload analysis of the Prosecutions Unit and an estimate of the additional work involved is at Annex A(3).

(c) Highway Surveillance and Systems Division (2 officers)

12. TD's Highway Surveillance and Systems Division (HSSD) is responsible for software issues, including software development, maintenance, modification and enhancement for traffic control and surveillance (TCS) and toll systems on strategic roads and tunnels. This Division requires one additional Engineer and one Senior Technical Officer to handle the additional work arising from the opening of the TMCA and the associated new strategic roads including NLE and WKE..

13. After the contracting-out exercise, the Operator will be responsible for the day-to-day software maintenance; while HSSD will retain the responsibility for software development and enhancement work. TMCA is the first major road network equipped with a fully integrated and sophisticated TCS system covering a wide geographical area. Frequent software development and modification work is expected to result from -

• implementation of area-wide traffic management schemes;

• changes in traffic control and management philosophy; and

• changes arising from interaction with adjacent or related transport infrastructure.

14. Apart from software development and enhancement work, HSSD also has to closely monitor the Operator's software maintenance performance. Given the strategic importance of TMCA and the critical role of the TCS system in ensuring safe and efficient traffic flow, poor performance on the part of the Operator will have serious traffic and economic repercussions. A comparison of HSSD's work in respect of TMCA and the existing Government tunnels is at Annex A(4).

(d) Regional Offices (6 officers)

15. TD's NT and Urban Regional Offices require additional staff to handle the additional work arising from the opening of TMCA and associated roads and developments including NLE, WKE and Tung Chung New Town.

16. The additional staff involved comprises -

• 1 Senior Traffic Engineer (MPS 45-49)

• 2 Traffic Engineers: 1 in Urban Region and 1 in NT Region

• 1 Senior Technical Officer

• 2 Technical Officers

17. The main responsibilities of the above staff are to oversee traffic management and traffic engineering issues, including formulating traffic management strategies to ensure efficient use of the road network; formulating contingency plans for traffic arrangements during emergencies to minimise the adverse traffic impact; and providing traffic engineering input to transport studies, traffic impact assessments, development proposals and road opening schemes. A comparison of the Regional Offices' work in respect of TMCA and Tuen Mun Road is provided at Annex A(5) for reference.

(e) Supporting Staff for TMCA Monitoring Team (2 officers)

18. One Clerical Officer II and one Typist are required to provide office support to the TMCA Monitoring Team.

Highways Department

19. The TMCA Management, Operation and Maintenance Contract is a new type of contract with the maintenance of highways facilities contracted out to the private sector. A team of staff is needed to monitor and audit closely the work of the operator and ensure that the inspection, maintenance and repair of the facilities within the TMCA are carried out by the Operator to the standards required in the Contract. At the end of the Contract, the team will have to ensure that the TMCA has been properly maintained by the outgoing operator so that the incoming operator can take over the TMCA immediately.

20. The three long span cable-supported bridges (i.e. Tsing Ma Bridge, Kap Shui Mun Bridge, and Ting Kau Bridge) are new types of structure in Hong Kong and are the world top ranking bridge structures. With the exception of Ting Kau Bridge, they serve to carry both road and rail traffic. They contain far more components than ordinary road bridges commonly constructed in Hong Kong and their structural behaviour is much more complicated. HyD needs to monitor and verify the structural behaviour of these bridges and to monitor their maintenance by the operator. In addition there is a need to monitor the extensive roadside slope and drainage within the TMCA. Moreover, HyD needs to coordinate with the MTRC, the Route 3 (Country Park Section) operator, utility companies, private developers at Ma Wan and other government departments to ensure that an uninterrupted route to the new airport is maintained at all times.

21. The proposed Highways team for the TMCA will consist of 26 staff including one Chief Engineer (D1) to head the team. There will be three sections namely the Structures section, the Highways section and the Bridge Health section, as shown in the organisation chart at Annex B(1). Members may wish to note that we intend to approach the Establishment Sub-committee regarding the proposed creation of the Chief Engineer post in February 1997.

Monitoring TMCA Operator's work (10 officers)

22. Staff in the Structures section and Highways section will monitor and audit the performance of the TMCA Operator. The former comprises one Senior Engineer, three Engineers and two Inspectors of Works. Some of its duties are similar to those performed by the existing Structures Division in the Department. These include approving inspection, maintenance and repair programmes and procedures for the structures including bridges, tunnels and viaducts as well as carrying out random inspections on the Operator's inspection, maintenance and repair of the structures in accordance with the quality assurance plan. New duties of the Structures section include:–

1. monitoring and auditing the performance of the Operator on inspection, maintenance and repair of the structures;
2. approving proposals and tenders for non-scheduled maintenance works for the structures;
3. carrying out end-of-term inspections jointly with the Operator; and
4. arranging site visits for local and overseas visitors.

23. The Highways section comprises one Senior Engineer, two Engineers and one Inspector of Works. Some of its duties are also similar to those performed by Regional Offices of the Department. These include administering contracts in respect of highways maintenance and approving inspection, maintenance and repair programmes and procedures for the highways i.e. roads, drains, slopes, sewage treatment plant and landscaping. New duties of this section include:–

1. monitoring and auditing the performance of the operator on inspection, maintenance and repair of highways;
2. approving proposals and tenders for non-scheduled maintenance works for the highways;
3. approving proposals on Maintenance Database and monitor its development and application; and
4. carrying out end-of-term inspections jointly with the operator.

Consequential staffing requirements arising from the opening of the TMCA (4 officers)

24. There is a need for the Highways Department to set up a Bridge Health section to monitor the structural behaviour and health of the long span cable-supported bridge through measurements and analyses. Such work is best carried out by the Department and has not been included in the TMCA MOM contract. This section comprises one Senior Engineer, two Engineers and one Assistant Inspector of Works and is mainly responsible for the following duties:–

1. collecting data from measurement devices installed and carry out field vibration measurements for the cables, cross-frames and towers of the three cable-supported bridges at regular intervals and at times under strong wind, earthquake, and other abnormal environmental conditions for determining their changes in dynamic characteristics;
2. calibrating and updating the bridge computer models adopted in design of the cable-supported bridges based on field measurement data for more accurate prediction of bridge responses; and
3. evaluating the global health and safety of the three cable-supported bridges by comparing the theoretical and measured results, and identify location of potential hidden damages for follow-up inspection.

25. As the Ting Kau Bridge will only be completed in late 1997, another six posts including two Engineers posts (i.e. one Engineer post each from the Highways section and the Structures section) in the establishment of the GMT (Highways) will not be created until late 1997. The need for the Bridge Health section will be reviewed in May 2001.

Supporting staff (11 officers)

26. There is a need to provide 11 supporting staff comprising three Technical Officers, four clerical staff, three secretarial staff and one Office Assistant for the above three sections and the monitoring team from the Electrical & Mechanical Services Department as required under the Trading Fund Agreement.

27. Further justification for the team in the Highways Department is at Annex B(2).

Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

28. The team from this Department will consist of an electrical and mechanical group, comprising one Senior Engineer and five Inspectors of Works, and an electronics group comprising one Senior Engineer and four Inspectors of Works.

Monitoring TMCA Operator's work

29. The team will be mainly responsible for –

1. monitoring the performance of the Operator on the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the electrical and mechanical (E&M) and Electronics Systems through the approval of procedures and practices, examination of reports, log books and scheduled/random site inspections;
2. ensuring that the Operator is adequately provided in a short gearing up period with the necessary management, organisation, staff, procedures, knowhow and training for the timely and smooth opening of the TMCA; and thereafter making sure that the Operator maintains resources to satisfactorily discharge his responsibilities under the Contract; and
3. ensuring that O&M of E&M and Electronics Systems are carried out properly and diligently by the Operator in accordance with specified maintenance requirements, O&M manuals, approved maintenance programmes, procedures and practices. This would prevent the Operator from sacrificing the working life of the equipment for their short term monetary savings, and ensure that Operator's proposals for changes are acceptable.

Additional work arising from the Opening of the TMCA

30. There will be no staffing requirements for additional duties arising from the opening of the TMCA. The team will also be tasked to undertake the work involved, as follows –

1. providing technical advice to the Transport Department and Highways Department on contractual penalties, claims and disputes arising from the MOM contract;
2. conducting investigations into incidents and causes of equipment failure; and
3. approving Operator's proposals for parts replacement each costing more than HK$100,000 for which the Operator would be reimbursed.

31. A comparison between TMCA and Government tunnels in terms of complexity of work and a map showing the locations of major interlinking facilities are at Annex C(1) and (2) respectively.

II. Other relevant matters

Contingency plans for closure of the Lantau Link and North Lantau Expressway

32. We are formulating plans for handling disruption of road traffic over the Lantau Link and North Lantau Expressway and will consult Members in March 1997.

Staffing of TMCA operator

33. The TMCA operator is expected to employ 600 - 700 staff. Distribution of staffing and scope of work are as follows –

* Depending on extent of sub-contracting

Traffic forecasts for the Lantau Link and arrangements for dumped vehicles

34. The number of vehicles that would be using the Lantau Link in the latter half of 1997 is estimated at 5,000. It would rise to nearly 90,000 upon the opening of the new Airport in 1998, rising to 140,000 in 2001. Details of traffic forecasts are at Annex D.

35. In relation to arrangements for dumped vehicles, there will be 25 recovery vehicles serving the TMCA and broken down vehicles may be stored at four storage areas. A plan showing the sites for recovery vehicles and storage areas for broken down vehicles is at Annex E.

Transport Branch
22 January 1997

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Annex A(1)

TMCA Contract Operational and Financial Monitoring Team

Major Duties by Rank

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Annex A(2)

Work Comparison for TD's Monitoring Teams

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Annex A(3)

Workload Ananlysis of the Prosecutions Unit and Estimate of the additional work

Workload Analysis of the TD Central Prosecutions Unit

Work performed by 1 STO, 2 TOs & 1 STI

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Annex A(4)

Work Comparison for TD's Highway Surveillance and Systems Division

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Annex A(5)

Work Comparison for TD's Regional Offices

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Annex B(2)

Justification for GMT in Highways Department

The total area of structures within the TMCA is about 425,000 sq. m. including the three long span cable-supported bridges (about 125,000 sq. m.). The total area of structures maintained by the Structures Division of the Department is about 2,156,000 sq. m. under the care of 16 professional and 36 inspectorate and supervisory staff. The staffing level currently allowed in the Structures section of the GMT (Highways) is 4 professional and 2 inspector of works while the normal staffing level required for inspection and maintenance of an area of 425,000 sq. m. of structures in the Structures Division on a pro-rata basis is 3.2 professional and 7.1 inspectorate and supervisory staff. But as the long span cable-supported bridges contain far more components than ordinary road bridges and their inspection requirements are more complicated, it is anticipated that the monitoring effort would double those required for the ordinary road bridges.

2. The total carriageway area within the TMCA is about 500,000 sq. m. while the total carriageway area maintained by the Regional Offices (Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories) is about 18,101,000 sq. m. under the care of 92 professional and 357 inspectorate and supervisory staff. The staffing level currently allowed in the Highways section of GMT (Highways) is 3 professional and 1 inspector of works while the normal staffing level required for inspection and maintenance of a road area of 500,000 sq. m. in the Regional Office is 2.5 professional and 9.9 inspectorate and supervisory staff.

3. Highways Department has consulted major overseas bridge maintenance authorities on the proposed establishment of the GMT (Highways). Most of the strategic routes in the world are maintained by Government (i.e. under respective Bridge Board or Bridge Authorities) except the first Severn Bridge Crossing (SBC) in the United Kingdom. The SBC's view was that the proposed establishment would generally be comparable with their set-up but might be insufficient to cover any major non-scheduled works and repairs.

4. The proposed establishment has also been passed to Transport Branch's Technical Advisory Board on Lantau Link for comments. The Board comprising one bridge expert from UK and one professor each from USA and Japan considered that the proposal was appropriate but recommended that the proposed establishment especially those more senior staff posts be filled well before the opening of the TMCA for public use.

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Annex C(1)

Comparison between TMCA and Government Tunnels

The TMCA is more complex and critical than Government Tunnels in terms of Operator monitoring

The TMCA is more complex than 5 Government Tunnels in the following ways :-

i) No. of location/venues involved

The TMCA consists of over 10 major interlinking facilities, including the Cheung Ching Tunnel, Tsing Ma Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge and Approach Viaduct, Ma Wan Viaduct, Kap Shui Mun Bridge, Kwai Ching Viaduct, North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Lantau Toll Plaza and Central Administration Building, Tsing Yi Administration Building, Rambler Channel Bridge, North Lantau Expressway (Part).

On the other hand, there are only five stand alone Government Tunnels, which are separately and independently operated.

ii) Complexity and sophistication of TMCA E&M and Electronics Systems

The E&M and Electronics Systems in TMCA are more sophisticated and complex. Some of them are the first of the kind in the Region and new to EMSD, e.g. Wind and Structural Health Monitoring Systems for Tsing Ma Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge, Cheung Ching Tunnel Structural Monitoring System and Cable Assess Systems for Tsing Ma Bridge/Kap Shui Mun Bridge/Ting Kau Bridge.

On the other hand, the 5 Government Tunnels are equipped only with conventional/traditional E&M systems. The maintenance input and hence the monitoring input is lower in these Tunnels.

iii) Scale of coverage of the TMCA E&M and Electronics Installations

The scale of coverage of some E&M and electronics installations is among the largest ones used in Hong Kong, involving advanced technology and more sophisticated system layout spreading over a wide area. Such systems include the integrated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System for Tsing Ma Bridge, Kap Shui Mun Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge and Cheung Ching Tunnel, and the area wide Traffic Control and Surveillance System for the whole TMCA.

One the other hand, the scale of the systems in Government Tunnels is much smaller since each of these 5 Government Tunnels are standalone and geographically isolated and very similar.

iv) Capital cost of the TMCA E&M and Electronics Installations

The historical cost of TMCA E&M and Electronics Systems is estimated at around $1100M. The annual charges for the EMSD Team is $10.7M. The percentage of charges is 0.97% of the equipment cost.

For the tunnels, the estimated total cost for E&M and Electronics Systems is around $700M. The annual total charges for the EMSD service are around $5.5M. The percentage of charges is 0.79% of the equipment cost.

The slightly lower ratio for the 5 Government Tunnels reflects the less diversified and sophisticated nature and maintenance knowhow of the tunnel equipment as well as economies of scale.

v) Contractual interface

A large variety of interfaced E&M and Electronics Systems spreading over a wide area having many contractual interfaces require frequent and complex coordination with other government departments, quasi-government organisations, public utilities, private companies, and the public to ensure smooth operation of TMCA.

vi) Criticality of the TMCA

The Lantau Link of TMCA is the only link to the new Airport and Tung Chung New Town, and the Northwest Tsing Yi Interchange with Route 3 sections (ie. Ting Kau Bridge and Approach Viaduct, and the slip roads to Tuen Mun Highway) will channel the traffic to Tuen Mun and Yuen Long. It is a critical high traffic volume road link and sections demanding the highest level of availability, we need to ensure correspondingly a very high level of maintenance standards.

Although Government tunnels are also critical to the smooth traffic within the geographical areas concerned, they are nonetheless not the only road link in their respective areas.

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