Introduction

It was a fruitful year for the Airport Core Programme (ACP).
Following the opening - between February and April 1997 - of
the West Kowloon Expressway, the Kwai Chung Viaduct of
Route 3 and the Western Harbour Crossing, the remaining
sections of the ACP transport corridor were opened to traffic
on May 22. These were the North Lantau Expressway, the
Lantau Link, and the Tsing Yi Section of Route 3. Their
opening signified the full completion of the transport corridor
between Central and Tung Chung.

A ceremony was held on April 27 to mark the official opening
of the Lantau Link - the largest transport project in the ACP.
Over 3 000 guests and performers witnessed the ceremony,
around 100 000 members of the public enjoyed the fireworks
display on site and another two million people watched it on
television. Extensive coverage of the ceremony by local and
international media projected Hong Kong as a capable provider
of infrastructure development services and promoted the
Lantau Link as a landmark and a symbol of Hong Kong's
success.

Eight of the 10 ACP projects are substantially complete. By the
end of the year, the ACP was 94 per cent complete overall.
The remaining two projects, the new airport and the Airport
Railway (AR), are on course to meet their respective target
completion dates in April and June 1998. The government has
decided to open the new airport for operation on July 6, 1998,
after the AR is available to ensure that there will be adequate
and efficient transportation support for the new airport.

The overall ACP budget has been reduced by $8.4 billion from
$163.7 billion in 1992 to the present estimate of $155.3 billion.
This was made possible principally as a result of rigorous cost
control efforts on ACP works and the open and transparent
system in awarding ACP contracts.