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The Director of Drainage Services, Mr Chan Chi-chiu, officiated at a breakthrough ceremony for the main tunnel of the Lai Chi Kok Drainage Tunnel today (December 13). The ceremony signified that the project, which is designed to alleviate flooding risk in the Lai Chi Kok, Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po areas, has entered its final phase.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Chan said that the $1.7 billion tunnel project involves the construction of a branch tunnel and a main tunnel with a total length of about 3.7 kilometres. Stormwater from the uphill areas of Lai Chi Kok, Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po will be channelled to the branch tunnel through six intakes along Ching Cheung Road and Tai Po Road and via 270 metres of adits. Together with stormwater from Butterfly Valley, the combined flow will be conveyed by the main tunnel for discharge into Victoria Harbour near Stonecutters Island.
"Upon completion of the project, the flood protection level in Lai Chi Kok, Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po will be able to withstand rainstorms with a return period of one in 50 years. This will greatly alleviate the risk of flooding and associated impacts on the public, traffic and commercial activities," Mr Chan said.
"We have overcome a number of challenges during the construction of the main tunnel including driving the tunnel boring machine (TBM) across four overlying operational railway lines and through the foundations of numerous existing infrastructures. Moreover, the work has involved 90 construction operations under hyperbaric pressure up to 4.2 bar, which is unprecedented in Hong Kong. We have taken this opportunity to bring to Hong Kong new hyperbaric technology for tunnel construction."
The contractor for design and construction of the Lai Chi Kok Drainage Tunnel is Leighton-John Holland Joint Venture, and the supervising consultant is AECOM Asia Company Limited. Construction work commenced in November 2008 and the branch tunnel breakthrough took place in January 2011. Work is scheduled for completion by late 2012.
For details of the Lai Chi Kok Drainage Tunnel, please visit www.dsd.gov.hk/others/LCKDT/eng/background.html.
Ends/Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:13
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