The Water Supplies Department (WSD) today (March 16) awarded a $360 million contract for the replacement and rehabilitation of about 56 kilometres of aged water mains with diameter ranging from 20 to 700 millimetres in Hong Kong's Southern District and outlying islands.
The contract is the seventh of the 14 contracts to be awarded under stage 3 of the territory-wide water mains replacement and rehabilitation programme. In February, the WSD awarded under stage 3 of the programme three contracts for the replacement and rehabilitation of a total of about 216 kilometres of aged water mains with diameter ranging from 20 to 1,200 millimetres in East Kowloon, Hong Kong Central and Western District, Tai Po and Sha Tin, valued at $621 million, $473 million and $317 million respectively.
The stage 3 works, covering replacement and rehabilitation of about 800 kilometres of water mains, are scheduled for completion by 2013.
The Assistant Director of Water Supplies, Mr Ng Chi-ho, said after today's signing ceremony that with more than 30 kilometres of water mains being replaced and rehabilitated per month, the whole 15-year programme covering 3,000 kilometres of water mains will be completed on schedule by 2015.
About 7,200 jobs in the construction industry will be created by the entire water mains replacement and rehabilitation programme, of which 1,950 are being created for the stage 3 works.
Ends/Monday, March 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:26
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