Commissioning of Central Kowloon Bypass (Yau Ma Tei Section) to take place on December 21
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The CKB (YMT Section) is a dual three-lane carriageway with a total length of 4.7 kilometres (km), including a tunnel of about 3.9 km long. The bypass connects Yau Ma Tei Interchange in West Kowloon to the Kai Tak Development Area and Kowloon Bay in East Kowloon, forming an important trunk road across central Kowloon. The western portal of the bypass connects to the Yau Ma Tei Interchange and provides access to Hong Kong (West), Kwai Chung, Lantau Island, Cheung Sha Wan, Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui via Hoi Po Road, West Kowloon Highway and Lin Cheung Road. The eastern portal connects to the Kai Tak Interchange, and motorists can travel via Shing Kai Road, Kai Cheung Road, Kai Fuk Road and Shing Cheong Road to and from Kai Tak Sports Park, Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong Bypass and Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, etc.
Upon commissioning of CKB (YMT Section), traffic can bypass the busy central Kowloon area, significantly reducing travel time. During peak hours, the travel time from Yau Ma Tei to Kowloon Bay can be shortened from approximately 30 minutes to just about 5 minutes. CKB (YMT Section) will also alleviate the traffic burden on existing major east-west corridors (such as Lung Cheung Road, Argyle Street, Prince Edward Road West, Chatham Road North, Boundary Street, etc) helping to ease congestion. Neighbouring areas such as Wong Tai Sin, Ho Man Tin and Kowloon City will also benefit from this improvement and the road network efficiency in Kowloon will be significantly enhanced.
The CKB (YMT Section) is a large-scale project involving the construction of flyovers, drill-and-blast tunnel and underwater tunnel, with many challenges. Its alignment traverses bustling urban areas including Yau Ma Tei, Jordan, Kowloon City and Kai Tak, etc. In addition to reprovisioning of public facilities and temporary reclamation works, it also intersects with seven existing MTR Lines, which significantly increased the construction complexity. The project team proactively adopted innovative technologies and fostered the use of digitalisation in overcoming such challenges, while ensuring that the communities operated as usual and that the historic buildings nearby were protected during the construction.
The Highways Department (HyD) and its contractors are now at the final stage of works, including conducting final tests on systems and relevant drills. The HyD is also working with different departments and agencies (including the tunnel management company) to prepare for the commissioning of relevant road sections.
The HyD, together with the Transport Department and the relevant departments, will announce the detailed arrangements for the commissioning in due course.
Ends/Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Issued at HKT 9:19
Issued at HKT 9:19
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