$217m contract to combat flooding in West Kowloon (29/11/1999)

The Drainage Services Department today (Monday) awarded a $217 million contract for drainage improvement works to alleviate the flooding problem in Lai Chi Kok and Mong Kok.

The works, under Stage 2 Phase 1 of the West Kowloon Drainage Improvement Project, will comprise the upgrading of about five kilometres of stormwater drains of 300 to 2100 millimetres in diameter and 350 metres of box culverts in the two areas.

The improvement works for the remaining 18 kilometres of drains will commence in the following few months.

Speaking after signing the contract, the Assistant Director of Drainage Service (Projects & Development), Mr George Lai Fuk-kan, said that when the works were completed in before the wet season of 2004, the hydraulic capacity of the drainage system in the areas would be substantially increased.

"The works are part of an overall scheme to improve the drainage system in West Kowloon to meet heavy rains for a return period of 50 years," Mr Lai said.

Mr Lai noted that the major difficulties associated with the works were the laying of pipes in busy streets such as Castle Peak Road, Cheung Shun Street, Canton Road, Lai Chi Kok Road, Tung Choi Street and Fa Yuen Street, north of Nullah Road.

"We have therefore designed effective traffic management schemes to minimise disruption to motorists and pedestrians," he said, adding that special attention will be paid to site tidiness, signage, hoarding and safety during construction.

"In addition, pre-construction surveys of existing underground services have been conducted during the design stage to resolve possible conflicts, using non-destructive methods such as electromagnetic detection or ground probing radar," he said.

Works under Stage 1 of the improvement project have progressed well since commencement in April 1998. They include laying of about 10 kilometres of stormwater drains and are scheduled for completion in 2003.

Other works under the improvement project include the construction of the Tai Hang Tung Storage Scheme and the Kai Tak Transfer Scheme under Stage 2 Phase 2. The third stage will see the construction of about 25 kilometres of drains in Yau Yat Tsuen, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon, part of Yau Ma Tei and Sham Shui Po.

"The Stages 2 and 3 works are expected to be completed in 2004 and 2007 respectively, when flooding problems in West Kowloon will be basically resolved in stages," Mr Lai said.

Ends/Monday, November 29, 1999