Legislative Council Panel on Transport
Development of Transport Infrastructure to tie in with Tseung Kwan O Area 137 Port Development Project

Purpose

This paper sets out the Administration's assessment on the traffic impact arising from the Tseung Kwan O (TKO) Area 137 port development project Stage 2, and the planning on transport projects to enhance the traffic situation in the area and TKO as a whole.

Background

2. It is the Government's policy to maximise the reuse of public fill in land formation and reclamation to minimise the disposal of construction and demolition waste at landfills. TKO Area 137 Stage 1 site, situated to the south of the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate (TKOIE) and Fat Tong Chau, is one of the three public filling areas and has taken a total of 5.5 million cubic metres of public fill by January 1999. The other two public filling areas are located at Tuen Mun Area 38 and Pak Shek Kok in Shatin. It is estimated that the TKO Area 137 Stage 1 site would be full by October 1999.

3. In view of the envisaged acute shortage of public filling capacity in Hong Kong, the Administration proposes to make use of the TKO Area 137 Stage 2 site as a public filling area to provide about 3 million cubic metres of public filling capacity. If the TKO Area 137 Stage 2 reclamation does not proceed as proposed, there will be no filling area in southeast Hong Kong after the completion of the Stage 1 reclamation.

4. At the meeting of the Legislative Council's Panel on Planning, Land and Works on 23 March 1999 when the Administration briefed Members on the proposed TKO Area 137 Stage 2 reclamation, Members expressed concern about the overall TKO development plan and the associated transport infrastructure.

Assessment of the traffic impact arising from the Area 137 development

5. The major access road leading to Area 137 is Wan Po Road. Our assessment is that the Area 137 Stage 2 reclamation will not create additional burden to Wan Po Road and the road network in TKO as a whole for the following reasons -

  1. the existing TKO Area 137 Stage 1 site is already used as a public filling area. It will be full will cease operation by the time when the Stage 2 site opens as a public filling area. We anticipate that the number of vehicles heading for the Stage 2 site would be similar to the existing number of vehicles heading for the Stage 1 site; and

  2. according to the latest development plan for the Stage 1 reclamation, it is expected that the first development in the area will not be in place before 2007. By that time the Stage 2 reclamation will already been completed.
6. Furthermore, we are now undertaking improvements to Wan Po Road to further enhance the traffic situation. We are now widening Wan Po Road from single-2 lane to dual-2 lane for completion in 2000. To tie in with the developments in Area 137, we are also extending Wan Po Road to the area by end 1999. It is envisaged that the traffic situation along Wan Po Road will be improved with the following volume/capacity (V/C) ratios after the widening of the road -

Year199920012006
V/C ratio0.90.360.56


Other planned transport infrastructure improvements

7.At present the external traffic of TKO is served mainly by the TKO Tunnel. The winding Po Lam Road provides a supplementary access to Kwun Tong. Hang Hau Road and Clear Water Bay Road together provide an external connection at the northern side of TKO to the eastern part of the New Territories.

8. We will continue to review and consider the need for the following projects taking into account the scale and programme of future residential, commercial and industrial developments in TKO -

  1. Western Coast Road - to provide a direct access for heavy vehicles from TKO Area 137 to South East Kowloon, without the need to route through the residential and commercial areas in TKO Town Centre.

  2. Improvements to Hang Hau Road and two sections of Clear Water Bay Road - to widen Hang Hau Road and the section of Clearwater Bay Road from Hang Hau Road to Tai Po Tsai and the section adjacent to Tai Po Tsai from single 2-lane to dual-2 lane.

  3. Town Centre Link and Cross Bay Link - to provide additional link roads for the traffic from Area 137 and to other parts of TKO and then to Kowloon via the Western Coast Road.

  4. Upgrading of the existing roundabout at the junction of Wan Po Road/TKO Tunnel Road/Po Shun Road - to provide a grade separated interchange at the junction.
9.A plan showing the locations of the above projects is at the Annex.

Advice Sought

10. Members are requested to note the contents of this paper.

Transport Bureau
Government Secretariat

TRAN L/M 35/99
April 1999