Following is a question by Dr the Hon Priscilla Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, in the Legislative Council today (July 11):
Question:
Kai Tak Development (KTD) is a large-scale project encompassing the ex-airport site together with the adjoining three districts of Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong, spanning a total planning area of over 320 hectares. KTD features a mix of community, housing, business, tourism and infrastructural uses. With the intake of the residential flats and the commissioning of the public facilities within KTD one after another, the traffic flow within the area has been increasing. Quite a number of Kai Tak residents and the operator of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal have relayed to me recently the slow progress of the development of the roads and transport systems connecting the facilities within the area (e.g. the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and the forthcoming Hong Kong Children's Hospital). For example, the target completion date of the detailed feasibility study for the Environmentally Friendly Linkage System (EFLS) for Kowloon East has been postponed from the original third quarter of 2017 to this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the road development within KTD and the specific timetable;
(2) of the latest progress of EFLS and the relevant timetable;
(3) whether it will allocate additional manpower and resources to expedite the construction of the roads and transport systems within KTD; if so, of the details; and
(4) whether the Government will introduce environmentally friendly modes of transport (e.g. eco-buses or eco-minibuses) as a temporary transport measure before the commissioning of the EFLS; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
To tie in with the implementation of the Kai Tak Development (KTD), the Government has been taking forward the planning, design and construction of various public works and infrastructure projects in phases to cope with the new population intake and various developments in the district with a view to realising the planning theme of transforming the KTD into a heritage, green, sports and tourism hub. Besides, we are also conducting a detailed feasibility study (DFS) for the Environmentally Friendly Linkage System (EFLS) for Kowloon East to explore the feasibility of extending the EFLS from the KTD to Kowloon Bay and Kwun Tong to provide transport connection within Kowloon East.
Our responses to the four parts of the question are as follows:
(1) Infrastructure works for the KTD are being implemented in stages according to their priorities to tie in with the development pace of the area. The progress of road developments associated with the KTD infrastructure projects is set out below:
Infrastructure projects (with major road works) completed include:
| Public Works Project Item number | Project Title | Major road works completed and commissioned |
| 739CL | KTD – stage 1 infrastructure works at north apron area of Kai Tak Airport | Shing Kai Road, Muk Hung Street and Muk On Street at the former north apron |
| 741CL | KTD – stage 1 advance infrastructure works for developments at the southern part of the former runway | Shing Fung Road and Shing Cheong Road at the former runway and south apron respectively |
| 746CL | KTD – stage 2 infrastructure at north apron area of Kai Tak Airport | Muk On Street (extension) and Muk Ning Street at the former north apron |
Infrastructure projects (with major road works) now under construction include:
| Public Works Project Item number | Project Title | Major road works under construction | Anticipated Completion Date |
| 761CL | KTD – stages 3A and 4 infrastructure works at north apron area of Kai Tak Airport | Road D2 at the former north apron | 2018 (stage 3A covering Concorde Road and vehicular underpass of Kai San Road across Prince Edward Road East at the former north apron was completed) |
| 711CL | KTD – infrastructure works for developments at the southern part of the former runway | Widening of Shing Cheong Road, and realignment and widening of Shing Fung Road at the former south apron and runway respectively | 2019 |
| 797CL | KTD – stages 3B and 5A infrastructure works at former north apron area | Road D1, Road L7 and slip roads connecting Prince Edward Road East at the former north apron | 2020 |
Apart from that, we separately consulted the Legislative Council Panel on Transport and the Panel on Development in June this year on relevant infrastructure projects including Trunk Road T2 of Route 6, Road D3 (Metro Park Section) connecting the former north apron and runway, as well as Road L10 connecting Shing Cheong Road and the Central Kowloon Route. We plan to seek support from the Public Works Subcommittee and funding approval from the Finance Committee in the next legislative session.
The remaining KTD's infrastructure works are under active planning and design to dovetail with the development pace and growth of traffic demand of the areas concerned.
(2) As diverse views had been received regarding the most suitable mode of green transport (GT) for the EFLS for Kowloon East and its alignment, additional time was taken to carry out the detailed feasibility study (DFS) in two stages, with the first stage identifying the most suitable GT modes by assessing various options on equal basis. We have completed an interim public consultation under the first stage of the DFS for the EFLS for Kowloon East. We are now proceeding with the second stage study, which is to explore the EFLS scheme, including its network coverage, alignment and station locations, and conducting associated technical assessments to ascertain its feasibility. The study is targeted for completion in 2018. The way forward for the EFLS project will be considered upon the completion of the DFS.
(3) The Government has set up the Kai Tak Office under the Civil Engineering and Development Department to lead, oversee and coordinate the implementation of the KTD. We will keep in view the staff resources required and when necessary, seek approval from the Legislative Council for additional resources for the completion of road works in various stages of the KTD.
(4) With regard to public transport services, the KTD is currently served by eight franchised bus routes and two green minibus (GMB) routes. A number of en-route bus and GMB routes in the area along Prince Edward Road East are also available to the KTD residents who wish to reach different destinations. To tie in with the development pace and the public transport needs of the KTD, the Transport Department (TD) has proposed in its Bus Route Planning Programme 2017-2018 the introduction of three new franchised bus routes to strengthen the public transport links between the KTD and other districts. The two bus routes running between Muk Ning Street in Kai Tak and Tai Kok Tsui (Island Harbourview) and between Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and Kowloon Tong (Festival Walk) have commenced operation, while the bus route running between Shing Tak Street in Kowloon City and Sai Wan Ho (Grand Promenade) via the KTD is expected to operate in mid-2018. On railway services, the Shatin to Central Link is under construction. The Tai Wai to Hung Hom section (including the Kai Tak and Sung Wong Toi stations) is expected to complete and commission in mid-2019. The TD will continue to closely monitor the development progress of the KTD, and adjust or strengthen different public transport services to meet the public demand for transport services in the area.
Meanwhile, the Government has been encouraging public transport operators to introduce and deploy more advanced models of environment friendly vehicles to operate public transport services. The Government is currently fully subsidising franchised bus companies to purchase 36 single-deck electric buses for a two-year trial on different routes to assess their operational performance in actual conditions, among which four supercapacitor buses will be deployed to run the circular route 5M between Tak Long Estate in Kai Tak and Kowloon Bay Railway Station. According to the current progress, it is expected that the supercapacitor buses will commence service in phases from the second half of 2018.
Follow this news feed: East Asia