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{{Use Hong Kong English|date=April 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}

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The '''Airport Core Programme''' was a series of [[infrastructure|infrastructure projects]] centred on the new [[Hong Kong International Airport]] during the early 1990s. The programme was part of the [[Port and Airport Development Strategy]], commonly known as the '''Rose Garden Project'''.

The cost for the whole project was estimated at over [[Hong Kong dollar|HK$]]200&nbsp;billion, and the [[Government of China|Chinese Government]] was concerned about its impact on the financial reserve of the future [[Government of Hong Kong|Hong Kong SAR Government]]. Several changes were made to the plan, including the shortening in distance of the two main towers of the [[Tsing Ma Bridge]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-11 |title=當年千億玫瑰園計劃搞什麼？ 奠定香港發展基石 |url=https://www.bastillepost.com/hongkong/article/3550015/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=www.bastillepost.com}}</ref> and the construction of the Airport Railway as a double-track railway. The project ended up costing [[Hong Kong dollar|HK$]]160.2&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.transparency.org/working_papers/country/hk_airport.html |title=Working Paper: Hong Kong: The Airport Core Programme and the Absence of Corruption |publisher=Transparency International |access-date=11 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224003704/http://legacy.transparency.org/working_papers/country/hk_airport.html |archive-date=24 February 2007 }}</ref>

The Programme formally commenced after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[John Major]] and [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Premier]] [[Li Peng]] in Beijing on 3 September 1991, and lasted eight years in total. It was the most expensive airport project in the world, according to the [[Guinness World Records]]. It was the biggest infrastructure programme in Hong Kong's history.

==History==
Plans to replace the old [[Kai Tak Airport]] were drafted after the Second World War. However, for financial and political reasons, the plan was abandoned in 1951 and the [[Government of Hong Kong|Hong Kong Government]] decided to expand the original airport instead.<ref name="book">{{cite book|author=Sung Hin-lun|title=A Hundred Years of Aviation in Hong Kong|publisher=Joint Publishing|year=2003|isbn=962-04-2188-4}}</ref>

With the growth of the [[economy of Hong Kong]] during the 1970s, the project reemerged for discussion. The government earmarked [[Chek Lap Kok]], just off the north coast of [[Lantau Island]] near [[Tung Chung]], as the designated site for the new airport. However, the plan was shelved in 1983 for economic reasons, as well as the question of Hong Kong's sovereignty and the impending signing of the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]].<ref name="book" />

The plan was announced on 11 October 1989 by the then [[Governor of Hong Kong|Governor]] [[David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn|David Wilson]], and it was perceived to be part of the government's effort to reinstate confidence in Hong Kong after the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests|Tiananmen Square protests of 1989]]. The public was initially surprised by the huge budget and there were concerns that it would drain much of the public revenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hku.hk/hkcer/articles/v5/rkwong.htm|title=The New Airport and Aviation in Hong Kong: A New Perspective|publisher=Kai-sun Kwong|access-date=11 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614032438/http://www.hku.hk/hkcer/articles/v5/rkwong.htm|archive-date=14 June 2007|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The programme was completed with the opening of the new [[Hong Kong International Airport]] at Chek Lap Kok in July 1998.<ref name="book"/>

==The Ten Core Projects==
The programme included:

===Hong Kong International Airport===
{{Main|Hong Kong International Airport}}
The Hong Kong International Airport is the centrepiece of this massive project; it provided the foundation for the other nine core projects of the Airport Core Programme.

[[Chek Lap Kok]] was selected as an optimal site due to its development potential. Construction finally started in 1992 and was planned to finish in mid-1997. [[Chris Patten]], the last Governor of Hong Kong, expressed his hope of leaving Hong Kong via the new airport after the [[handover of Hong Kong|transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong]], though this did not materialise. The airport finally came into operation on 6 July 1998, at a cost of around US$20&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/cheklapkok_new/|title = Hong Kong International Airport (HKG/VHHH)}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=domain on WP:BLACKLIST|date=June 2016}}

===Airport Railway===
{{Main|Airport Express (MTR){{!}}Airport Express|Tung Chung line}}
The Airport Railway was built to connect [[Kowloon Peninsula]] and [[Hong Kong Island]] (over the Western Immersed Tube)<ref>{{citation |last=Morris |first=Martin W. |title=The Design of the Western Immersed Tube Tunnel, Hong Kong |url=https://www.e-periodica.ch/cntmng?pid=bse-re-003:1998:78::247#jKUlZWMzaR0J}} [https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-design-of-the-Western-Immersed-Tube-Tunnel%2C-Morris/18e7ea1f043cf165ed4ef1952f787d2c13304e58]</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Hong Kong Airport Railway Western Immersed Tube Tunnel - Planning |author=Thomas Telford Limited |journal=Immersed Tunnel Techniques 2. Proceedings of the International Conference Organized by the Institution of Civil Engineers in Association with the Institution of Engineers of Ireland and Held in Cork, Ireland, on 23-24 April 1997 |year=1997 |url=https://trid.trb.org/view/485465#M4SpjkFNfIkJ}}</ref><ref>{{citation|chapter-url=https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/full/10.1680/itt2.26049.0022|title=Hong Kong Airport Railway Western Immersed Tube Tunnel|chapter= Immersed Tunnel Techniques 2 |last1=Enterkin |first1=H. |last2=Ichise |first2=K. |last3=Bayliss |first3=R. F.|year=1997|doi=10.1680/itt2.26049|isbn=978-0-7277-2604-9|editor-last=Ford |editor-first=Charles R.}}</ref> to the airport and the planned [[North Lantau New Town|new town of northern Lantau]]. The railway is operated by the [[MTR Corporation]] and has two routes: the [[Airport Express (MTR)|Airport Express]] and the [[Tung Chung line]] which provides a [[commuter railway|commuter service]] linking the new town of Tung Chung to the city. These two lines share the same double-tracks for most of their routes, however, the railway was initially planned to have four tracks along its length. The commuter service offered by the Tung Chung line also provided relief to the overcrowded [[Tsuen Wan line]] of the [[MTR]].

===Lantau Link===
{{Main|Kap Shui Mun Bridge|Lantau Link|Ma Wan Viaduct|Tsing Ma Bridge}}
Comprising [[Kap Shui Mun Bridge]], [[Tsing Ma Bridge]] and [[Ma Wan Viaduct]], the Lantau Link connects [[Lantau Island|Lantau]] with [[Tsing Yi]], via [[Ma Wan]]. It carries both road and railway traffic between the islands.

===Western Harbour Crossing===
{{Main|Western Harbour Crossing}}
This is the third cross-harbour tunnel for [[Victoria Harbour]]. Built under a [[build-operate-transfer]] agreement with the [[Western Harbour Tunnel Company]], the tunnel was intended to relieve congestion at the [[Cross-Harbour Tunnel]] and is part of expressway [[Route 3 (Hong Kong)|Route 3]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western Harbour Tunnel - About - Introduction - WHC Project|url=http://www.westernharbourtunnel.com/en/about21.html|access-date=2022-02-03|website=www.westernharbourtunnel.com}}</ref>

===North Lantau Expressway===
{{Main|North Lantau Expressway}}
With the highest posted [[speed limit]] in Hong Kong, at {{convert|110|km/h|mph|abbr=on}} on most of its length, this six-lane motorway links [[Tung Chung]] in the west to the [[Lantau Link]] in the east, via the north coast of [[Lantau Island|Lantau]]. A service road, [[Cheung Tung Road]], runs parallel to it between Tung Chung and [[Yam O]].

===Route 3 – Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Sections===
{{Main|Cheung Tsing Tunnel|Rambler Channel Bridge |Route 3 (Hong Kong){{!}}Route 3|Tsing Kwai Highway}}
[[Route 3 (Hong Kong)|Route 3]] is one of the 10 [[Hong Kong Strategic Route and Exit Number System|strategic expressway routes]] of Hong Kong, linking [[Sai Ying Pun]] on Hong Kong Island and [[Yuen Long]] in the [[New Territories]]. The Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi sections were built to link the [[Lantau Link]] and [[West Kowloon Highway|West Kowloon Expressway]].

The Kwai Chung section is {{convert|3|km|miles|abbr=on}} in length. The route connects with the [[West Kowloon Highway]] near [[Lai Chi Kok]], then bypasses the [[Kwai Tsing Container Terminals]], finally connecting with the [[Cheung Tsing Bridge]] of the Tsing Yi section. It is an 8-lane elevated motorway. This section is now known as [[Tsing Kwai Highway]].

The Tsing Yi section comprises the {{convert|500|m|yard|adj=on}} long [[Cheung Tsing Bridge]], which crosses over [[Rambler Channel]], and the {{convert|1.6|km|abbr=on|mile}} [[Cheung Tsing Tunnel]], which cuts through the high ground on Tsing Yi Island. This section is now known as the [[Cheung Tsing Highway]].

===West Kowloon Highway===
{{Main|West Kowloon Highway}}
This is a six-lane motorway {{convert|4.2|km|miles|abbr=on}} in length with the northern {{convert|2|km|miles|abbr=on}} elevated for the Airport Railway running underneath. It links the [[Kowloon]] portal of the [[Western Harbour Crossing]] in the south to the [[Tsing Kwai Highway]] in the north and is built entirely on [[#Land Reclamation in West Kowloon|newly reclaimed land in West Kowloon]].

===Land Reclamation in West Kowloon===
{{Main|Land reclamation in Hong Kong#West Kowloon Reclamation{{!}}West Kowloon Reclamation|Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter{{!}}New Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter}}
Reclamation work was needed along the west coast of [[Kowloon Peninsula]] to provide land for the expressway, [[Route 3 (Hong Kong)|Route 3]], as well as supporting infrastructure. The Airport Railway also runs through the reclaimed land of [[West Kowloon]]. The reclamation work has increased the area of Kowloon Peninsula by 30%.

===Central Reclamation Phase I===
{{Main|Land reclamation in Hong Kong#Central Reclamation Phase I{{!}}Central Reclamation Phase I}}
This phase required the reclamation of an area of {{convert|20|hectare|acre}} along the waterfront of [[Central, Hong Kong|Central]] to provide land for the Airport Railway's [[Hong Kong station]]. Two [[Outlying Islands Ferry Pier|ferry piers]] serving outlying islands as well as a government dockyard had to be relocated to facilitate the work.

===Phase I of North Lantau New Town===
{{Main|North Lantau New Town}}
The first phase of the new town in Northern [[Lantau Island|Lantau]] is centred on [[Tung Chung]] and was planned to provide housing to 18,000 people. The new town was meant to be a supporting community for the new [[Airport|Hong Kong International Airport]], as well as to act as a "gateway" to Hong Kong for visitors. At present, phases I, II and IIIA of the new town have been completed, all around [[Tung Chung]]. When all 4 phases are completed, the new town will be home to 320,000 people, covering an area of {{convert|830|hectare|acre}} between [[Tung Chung]] and the neighbouring area of [[Tai Ho Wan|Tai Ho]].

==Exhibition Centre==
The [[Airport Core Programme Exhibition Centre]] introducing the programme is located in [[Ting Kau]] near [[Sham Tseng]] in Hong Kong.

==References==
{{More footnotes|date=July 2009}}
*{{note|topten}} CONEXPO-CON/AGG '99 (1999). ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20051126083538/http://www.tfhrc.gov/pubrds/julaug99/topten.htm Top 10 Construction Achievements of the 20th Century]''. {{ISBN|0-9530219-5-5}}. Retrieved on 10 November 2005.
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.info.gov.hk/archive/napco/index-e.html}}

{{HKIA}}

[[Category:Transport in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:History of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Hong Kong International Airport]]
[[Category:Urban planning in Hong Kong]]