Central Kowloon Route (CKR) Highway - Update

Hong Kong has seen its fair share of large scale civil infrastructure projects over the last decade. We’ve seen major investments in MTR and airport transport links within the region in recent years.

One of the latest major infrastructure projects planned for Hong Kong is the Central Kowloon Route (CKR). The CKR is a planned highway project in Kowloon which includes a 4.7 km long dual 3-lane trunk road connecting the West Kowloon reclamation and the proposed Kai Tak Development area, including a tunnel of about 3.9km long.  It would form the section of the planned Route 6 which runs through the Kowloon peninsula, largely underground. The three-lane dual carriageway would begin at the Yau Ma Tei interchange of the West Kowloon Highway and finish at a new interchange on the Kai Tak Development. From there, Route 6 is planned to continue to Tseung Kwan O, although the section beyond Kai Tak is not part of the CKR project.

The CKR will relieve congestion along the existing major east-west corridors, enhancing linkages between districts and connecting various developments in Kowloon. CKR will provide an alternative route for the traffic to bypass the congested road network thus reducing journey time. With CKR it is estimated that the journey time between Yau Ma Tei and Kowloon Bay during peak hours would take around 5 minutes, saving about 25 minutes compared to the current journey.

Design

The CKR project consists of 3 major sections of work. These include:

1. Yau Ma Tei Section
2. King's Park, Ho Man Tin and Ma Tau Wai Section
3. Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon Bay and Kai Tak Section Section

(Map source Central Kowloon Route Construction Arrangements)

Yau Ma Tei Section:  this will connect with the Yau Ma Tei Interchange of West Kowloon Highway in the west through 7 slip roads. Traffic will also be able to get access through these slip roads to the Hong Kong Island in the south, Hong Kong International Airport and Kwai Tsing Container Terminal in the west and Northwest New Territories in the north.

King's Park, Ho Man Tin and Ma Tau Wai Section: This section includes a tunnel nearly 3km long. The tunnel will be constructed in rock stratum about 20 to 140 m below ground level using drill-and-blast method.  This will result in a reduction of around 10%-20% in the traffic flow along major trunk roads and help relieve the existing congested situation.

Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon Bay and Kai Tak Section: This consists of a section of cut-and-cover tunnel of about 140m in length to be constructed at the Kowloon City Ferry Pier Public Transport Interchange. The cut-and-cover tunnel will be connected to Kai Tak Development through an underwater tunnel of about 370m in length to be constructed in the seabed of Kowloon Bay. The eastern end of CKR connects to Kai Tak Interchange and its slip roads leading to Kowloon Bay, Kwun Tong and Kai Tak Development, making it convenient to travel between these areas and West Kowloon.

Latest News

The latest cost estimate for constructing the Central Kowloon Route is now estimated to be over HK$40 billion. This latest estimated cost compares to HK$10 billion made in 2002. But the scale of the project back then was much smaller. In January 2016, the Hong Kong Executive Council officially approved construction of the Central Kowloon Route. It is believed the project will take approximately over 7 years to complete.

Currently the Highways Department has issues 3 tender notices for contracts pertaining to CKR, with the closing dates in April and May.

As the construction period draws near on this latest major infrastructure project we expect to see an increase in demand for skilled professionals with relevant experience to work for contractors, consultants and engineering companies involved with the project. Quantity Surveyors, Engineers, Construction Managers and Commercial Managers with highways and tunnelling project experience will no doubt be in high demand.

Please get in touch if you'd like to hear more about this project or the opportunities we currently have available on other major projects in Hong Kong.

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Tim Cole
Senior Recruitment Consultant – Hong Kong & Asia