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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (June 11):
Question:
Regarding the Cross-Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the designed service life of the Tunnel;
(b) whether it had surveyed the structural condition of the Tunnel over the past five years to assess its remaining service life; if it had, of the result and whether reinforcement works were required, if no survey had been conducted, the reasons for that and when such survey will be conducted; and
(c) whether the structural condition of the Tunnel has shown any sign of aging; if it has, of the remedies; if not, when such signs are expected to show?
Reply:
Madam President,
I would like to reply to the three parts of the question as follows:
The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) at Hung Hom was built as a "Build, Operate and Transfer" project. The franchise of the tunnel was awarded in 1968 and its ownership was transferred to the Government upon the expiry of the franchise in 1999. As the tunnel was built forty years ago, we do not have in our possession records that indicate the design service life of the tunnel.
At present, Highways Department (HyD) and Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) are responsible for the maintenance and repairs of CHT. The tunnel structure has all along been maintained professionally and properly. The tunnel operator carries out daily inspection of the road surface and facilities of the tunnel. CEDD is responsible for the maintenance of the immersed tube structure, and conducts quarterly inspections of the reinforced concrete structure and annual surveys to monitor the movement of the tunnel alignment and the thickness of the protection layer. HyD is responsible for the maintenance of the portal sections on both sides of the tunnel and associated structures, and inspects such structures every six months to detect surface defects. HyD also carries out a comprehensive inspection every two years, including using non-destructive testing, to assess the conditions of such structures.
CEDD engaged a consultant engineer in 2003 to assess the maintenance of the immersed tube structure. According to the assessment report, such structure had been kept in good condition and could continue to be in service for over 70 years. The Government would continue to keep the tunnel under regular inspection, maintenance and assessment to ensure that its structure is sound and durable.
Ends/Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:27
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