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32-691: The Western Harbour Crossing ( WHC ) is a dual three-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong . It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour , linking reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei in West Kowloon with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Island . It was constructed by the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited (WHTCL), which also operated the tunnel from 1993 to 2023 under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) on

64-482: A tunnel boring machine to drill the final links to the portals on land. After these stages the tunnel is complete, and the internal fitout can be carried out. The segments of the tube may be constructed in one of two methods. In the United States, the preferred method has been to construct steel or cast iron tubes which are then lined with concrete. This allows use of conventional shipbuilding techniques, with

96-790: A 30-year franchise contract with the Hong Kong government . The tunnel is the first three-lane road tunnel in Asia to be constructed using submerged pipe. It was built as part of the Airport Core Programme , which included other infrastructure projects to support the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok . The tunnel carries on the Route 3 designation from the West Kowloon Highway and connects to Route 4 on Hong Kong Island. By

128-465: A manageable length, then having the ends sealed with bulkheads so they can be floated. At the same time, the corresponding parts of the path of the tunnel are prepared, with a trench on the bottom of the channel being dredged and graded to fine tolerances to support the elements. The next stage is to place the elements into place, each towed to the final location, in most cases requiring some assistance to remain buoyant. Once in position, additional weight

160-593: A package. One week before the final LegCo vote on the deal, in response to legislators' fears, the Liberal Party proposed an amendment that both the Government and the consortium found to be an acceptable compromise: to preserve the HK$ 30 opening toll, but the return on investment would be capped at 16.5% (instead of 18.5%) for the first three years after the tunnel opened; amounts above that would be transferred

192-875: A six-foot sewer main laid in Boston , Massachusetts in 1893. The first example built to carry traffic was the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel constructed in 1910 under the Detroit River , and the first to carry road traffic is the Posey Tube , linking the cities of Alameda and Oakland, California in 1928. The oldest immersed tube in Europe is the Maastunnel in Rotterdam , which opened in 1942. The Marmaray Tunnel , connecting

224-474: Is The Cross-Harbour (Holdings) Limited (CHHL), which has a 50% stake. Its other shareholders are CITIC Limited and Kerry Properties Limited , which hold 35% and 15% effective interests in WHTCL respectively through a joint venture company. On 5 June 2019, an Australian-based fund manager, Lanyon Asset Management Pty Limited, made a cash offer to acquire the 50% interest in the WHTCL from CHHL. Lanyon cited this

256-510: Is a sport event which held in Western Harbour Tunnel since 1999. Western Harbour Tunnel Company is one of the sponsors of this event. Started from 2001, the tunnel southbound route was closed and used as one of the routes in the game. Hong Kong Cyclothon is another sport event sponsored by Sun Hung Kai Properties and supported by Hong Kong Tourism Board . This event launched on 2015. Western Harbour Tunnel southbound tube

288-592: Is completed, at an as-designed 17.6 kilometres (10.9 mi) long. Construction started on 1 January 2021. 5. "Foundation of a tunnel by the sand-flow system", Tunnels and Tunnelling, July, 1973 by A. Griffioen and R. van der Veen Kumagai Gumi Kumagai Gumi Co., Ltd. ( 株式会社熊谷組 , Kabushiki-gaisha Kumagai Gumi ) is a Japanese construction company founded in Fukui , Fukui Prefecture , Japan . The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but

320-536: Is completed. After the 30 year franchise expired in August 2023, the Government, as the new owners of the tunnel, reduced the prices for private cars and taxi. Western Harbour Tunnel has been a place for many events. Before the Western Harbour Tunnel is officially open to public, in 1997, Walk for Millions was held in Western Harbour Tunnel. Participants can participate in the walk by soliciting donation from friends and relatives. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon

352-470: Is possible at all due to other factors such as the geology and seismic activity) or a bridge. Other advantages relative to these alternatives include: Disadvantages include: Tubes can be round, oval and rectangular. Larger strait crossings have selected wider rectangular shapes as more cost effective for wider tunnels. The first tunnel constructed with this method was the Shirley Gut Siphon,

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384-482: Is used to sink the element into the final location, this being a critical stage to ensure each piece is aligned correctly. After being put into place, the joint between the new element and the tunnel is emptied of water then made water tight, this process continuing sequentially along the tunnel. The trench is then backfilled and any necessary protection, such as rock armour , added over the top. The ground beside each end tunnel element will often be reinforced, to permit

416-591: The CHT team were dropped. At the close of the tender, the Government was disappointed that there was only one bidder. Upon this news, two new consortia of construction companies proposed to build the project for the Government if the Government decided to pull the tender and run the project itself. In 1993, the Western Harbour Crossing Ordinance (Cap. 436) was enacted to govern the construction and operation of tunnel. Having decided to rely on

448-735: The Cross Harbour Tunnel and the feeder roads to the WHC, there were calls for reduced tolls at the Western Harbour Crossing by letting the Government of Hong Kong buy back the tunnel from the current owners of the tunnel, WHTCL, so that it can control tolls and ease traffic congestion in the Cross Harbour Tunnel area. To that end, lawmakers passed a non-binding motion in 2008 for the HK Government to address

480-467: The European and Asian sides of Istanbul , Turkey , is the world's deepest immersed tunnel at 55 metres (180 ft) below sea level; it is the first rail link crossing the straits. Construction began in 2004 and revenue service began in 2013. The tunnel is 13.6 kilometres (8.5 mi) long overall, of which 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) were constructed using the immersed tube technique. Currently

512-400: The Liberal Party, criticised the mechanism as being too generous in favour of the franchisee and were unwilling to approve the deal. The government feared that revision at LegCo would adversely impact project viability and force re-opening of negotiations with the consortium. Underlying that were fears the consortium and its banks may withdraw from the project, so wanted the bill voted through as

544-509: The actual head office is located in Shinjuku , Tokyo . Santaro Kumagai, the company's founder, began his career as a civil servant in a police department. His construction career started as a stonemason, crafting religious monuments and performing work for the expanding railway network. Kumagai founded his own company in 1898 and incorporated it in 1938. Between 1955 and 1983 the company accounted for more than 10% of all contracts awarded to

576-421: The consortium agreed on the toll and its future adjustment where the starting toll for private cars was proposed to be at HK$ 30. The agreed automatic adjustment mechanism would allow the franchisee to maintain the target rate of return of between 15% and 18.5%. The operator could also increase the tunnel toll by HK$ 10 whenever its IRR fell below 15%. Legislators, principally from the pan-democrat camp but including

608-586: The development of the Hong Kong International Airport , it was to be an important component of the strategic Airport Core Programme linking it to the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals and Hong Kong Island. There are 10 km of associated roads (40 km of lanes) and 17 bridges. The Government announced in 1990 that the tunnel project would be financed as a private venture, with bidding initially scheduled to be called in April 1991. As

640-683: The early 1980s, commuters made 120,000 trips at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (CHT) every day, beyond its designed capacity of 80,000 daily trips. Population growth was also projected to reach 6.34 million in 2001 from 5.125 million in 1981. The Hong Kong government launched the Second Comprehensive Transport Study in the late 1980s, which said cross-harbour trips would increase greatly – person-trips would increase by 86% from 1.4m to 2.6m, and goods-vehicle-trips by 129% from 34,000 to 78,000 by 2001. Also, with

672-509: The fifty-seven members of the Overseas Construction Association of Japan, a figure that outranked the ‘Big Five’ domestic giant construction companies. As overseas projects were riskier, these five companies were reluctant to expand beyond Japan. Kumagai Gumi took advantage of the situation and sought work overseas, as both as a construction company and a developer, using BOT as project financing, becoming one of

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704-585: The longest immersed tube tunnel is the 6.7-kilometre-long (4.2 mi) tunnel portion of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge , completed in 2018. The HZMB tunnel is set at a depth of 30 metres (98 ft) below sea level. Its length will be surpassed by 1.2 metres (3 ft 11 in) with the completion of the Shenzhen–Zhongshan Bridge in 2024. The SZB project includes a 6.7 km-long (4.2 mi) immersed tube which also will be

736-507: The private sector, the government opted for a build–operate–transfer (BOT) model, for 30 years. Tenders for the project were invited, and was won by the Western Harbour Tunnel Company (WHTCL). The franchise was awarded for 30 years, ending August 2023. The Western Harbour Crossing Bill was also passed to award the franchise to the Western Harbour Tunnel Company to build and operate WHC. WHTCL's largest shareholder

768-585: The project was to span the change in sovereignty of Hong Kong, the support of both the British and Chinese was necessary. In September 1991, the British and Chinese governments signed the Memorandum of Understanding committing their firm support for building the new airport at Chek Lap Kok and its connecting infrastructure. Since mid-1991, private sector companies interested in the project started looking for partners to form consortia. The formal tendering exercise

800-401: The segments being launched after assembly in dry docks. In Europe, reinforced concrete box tube construction has been the standard; the sections are cast in a basin which is then flooded to allow their removal. The main advantage of an immersed tube is that they can be considerably more cost effective than alternative options – i.e., a bored tunnel beneath the water being crossed (if indeed this

832-485: The situation. However the consultant hired by the Government to find a solution to the traffic problem did not suggest the Western Harbour Crossing have lower tolls. The consultants said that lowering tolls would result in a very high increase in traffic volume, with severe congestion on the exit to Route 4 during rush hour. This solution would only be possible when the construction of the Central–Wan Chai Bypass

864-529: The toll stability fund to reduce the need for future toll rises. On 21 July 1993, the legislative council approved by 35 to 19 the amendment proposed by the Liberal Party. Any changes in tolls must be gazetted. The toll adjustment mechanism allows the franchisee to apply for an increase its tolls on six specified dates during the franchise period depending on revenues achieved. Toll increases and revenue appropriation according to following scenarii were envisaged: 2 Aug - Due to severe congestion experienced at

896-759: The world's widest immersed tube, carrying eight traffic lanes. Prior to the completion of the Marmaray and HZMB tunnels, the Transbay Tube in San Francisco Bay, completed in 1969, was the world's deepest and longest immersed tube, at 41 metres (135 ft) below water level and 5.8 kilometres (3.6 mi) long. The length of both the HZMB and SZB will be surpassed by the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link connecting Denmark and Germany when it

928-495: Was HK$ 7.5bn, funded privately. The project was completed in 1997. The pipe itself is 2 km long. The initial toll for private cars projected by the consortium was $ 30. The franchisee traffic forecast in January 1997 made before the tunnel opened was between 50,000 and 70,000 vehicle trips daily during the first year of operation. The actual number of daily trips did not exceed 47,000 and averaged at 20,000. The Government and

960-629: Was in the best interest of CHHL shareholders. CHHL rejected this offer on 11 June 2019. The project team consisted of John Mundy (project manager), John Porter of Nishimatsu (project director), Kazutoshi Torakai of Kumagai Gumi (technical director), K.C. Tsui (JV construction manager for the mechanical and electrical works), Sandy Hone (JV deputy project manager and construction manager for the civil works), Knud Poulsen (engineering manager), Alex Peling (commercial manager), Robert Lloyd, Eric Granville and Don Ramanaynke (the Government's Highways Department Western Harbour Link Office engineers). The project cost

992-466: Was launched in March 1992 and ended in early July 1992. In early 1992, two consortia appeared to be vying for the contract. However, one week before the closing date for tenders, Cross Harbour Tunnel Company and CITIC decided to merge their bids. Cross Harbour Tunnel Company, with Wharf Holdings as its major shareholder, dissolved its own consortium in favour of joining with CITIC group; the contractors of

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1024-514: Was one of the routes in the game. After the game in 2015, the event arranged the route. In the past few years, Lin Cheung Road and slip of West Kowloon Highway were closed to facilitate the races. Based on the road closure on nearby roads, Western Harbour Tunnel had relevant road arrangement. As of 2019, there are 75 bus routes passing through the tunnel. Immersed tube The tunnel is made up of separate elements, each prefabricated in

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