Water works: Assistant Director of Water Supplies Ng Chi-ho (right) signs the pipe-upgrade deal with Wo Hing Construction Company.

The Water Supplies Department has awarded a $223 million contract to Wo Hing Construction Company for upgrading 19km of aged water pipes in Lo Wu, Tai Wo and the Lion Rock Tunnel. Works will be completed in 2011.

The contract is the last of 17 awarded under the department's water main upgrade programme stage two. Lasting 15 years, the $15 billion programme is being conducted in four stages covering 3,000km of aged pipes.

Stage three will be finished by 2014, involving 800km of pipe costing $3.8 billion. The last stage, covering 850km of pipe, will be completed by 2016 costing $4 billion.

Assistant Director of Water Supplies Ng Chi-ho said with the programme's implementation, water mains bursts and leakages causing inconvenience to the public will be greatly reduced.

Key link

The Lion Rock Tunnel, apart from being a road link between Kowloon and the New Territories, also carries five fresh water mains providing an essential link in Hong Kong's water supply network.

Three of the five water mains, housed in the first tunnel, was built in the 1960s to bring treated water from the Sha Tin Water Treatment Works to Kowloon. With the growth in traffic and water demand, the second tunnel, which houses two more water mains, was built in the 1970s.

"As both tunnels and the five water mains are essential links in the city's traffic and water supply networks, the biggest challenge is to complete the rehabilitation work within a tight schedule while maintaining normal traffic and water supplies throughout the construction period," Mr Ng said.

"Upon completion of the rehabilitation, the five water mains can have another 50 years of service life."