AsiaSat 5 due for 2008 launch Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co Ltd (AsiaSat) has announced the signing of a construction agreement with Space Systems/Loral Inc (SS/L) to design and build AsiaSat 5 to replace AsiaSat 2. AsiaSat 5 will be built on the contractor's SS/L's 1300 series satellite platform and carry 26 C-band and 14 Kuband transponders with an estimated operational life of 15 years. AsiaSat 5's C-band footprint will offer a more powerful pan-Asian coverage than that of AsiaSat 2. Its Ku-band coverage will consist of three high power beams, two of which will cover East Asia and South Asia and an in-orbit steerable beam that can be positioned to provide service anywhere within AsiaSat 5's geographic coverage. AsiaSat 5 is designed to replace AsiaSat 2 at the orbital location of 100.5 degrees East in advance of AsiaSat 2's scheduled retirement in 2010. The planned launch of AsiaSat 5 in the second quarter of 2008, two years earlier than required, gives the company time to construct and launch a replacement satellite if necessary.

ITS forum in Hong Kong Hong Kong will play host to the 8th Asia-Pacific Intelligent Transport Systems Forum & Exhibition 2006 on 10-13 July 2006. To be held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, the four-day event will have three parallel sessions over two days with two technical sessions featuring state-of-the-art ITS applications throughout the world and one executive session outlining high-level ITS developments in the Asia Pacific and beyond. ITS professionals interested in participating in the event may obtain further details from: www.itshk.org/apits2006.

KCRC plans welding fixes The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) plans to spend more than HK$110 million on fixing the faulty welding on its trains. According to reports, cracks were found on 258 train components. An independent investigation identified as the cause of the problem uneven track that placed up to twice as much stress on the train suspension systems than they were designed to handle. KCRC plans to reinforce mounting brackets and suspension systems on 384 carriages, which is currently estimated to cost a total of HK$110 million. It also plans to replace one-third of East Rail track. The investigation and planned repairs were triggered by the discovery of faulty components that prompted the corporation to switch East Rail to manual train operation in January this year.

Tamar joint ventures prequalified Four joint ventures have been prequalified to bid for the design-and-build contract for the Tamar Development Project. The four are: China State-Leighton-Yau Lee JV; DHK-CRCC Tamar JV; Gammon-Hip Hing JV; and Paul Y-Shui On JV. "Subject to funding support from the Legislative Council, we will invite the four prequalified applicants to tender for the design- and-build contract for the Tamar Development Project in the third quarter of 2006," a government spokesperson said. The spokesperson said that models of the designs would be displayed in public when the tenders are returned and the public's views would be taken into account when evaluating the tenders. The contract is expected to be awarded in 2007.

CLP explores large-scale wind power generation CLP has linked up with UK wind power developer Wind Prospect to explore the feasibility of building a 150 MW offshore wind farm off Sai Kung. The proposed site is 7.5 km east of Clearwater Bay Peninsula and approximately 3 km to the East of Ninepin Island. To achieve a proposed installed capacity of 150 MW, the proposed wind farm could involve 30-50 offshore wind turbines, which could potentially produce electricity for 70,000-80,000 households of four in Hong Kong. Alex Tancock, general manager of Wind Prospect (Hong Kong), stressed that there is still a lot of investigation work to be done at the proposed site, including the identification of any development constraints such as depth, marine and fishing routes. The work will involve the installation of an offshore wind monitoring mast to gather more accurate site data, as well as the assessment of environmental considerations through the statutory EIA process. The partners said they are committed to an open approach and will keep stakeholders, including the Government and green groups, advised of developments throughout the feasibility study.

Scott Wilson designs Tianjin bridge Scott Wilson Tianjin has won an international competition for the conceptual design of Guo Tai Bridge and been commissioned by Tianjin Haihe Construction Development Investment Ltd to carry out the detailed design. Located in downtown Tianjin where the Haihe River transects the central urban area of the city, the Guo Tai Bridge is a 162 m long, 31.5 m wide steel arch bridge with a main span of 156 m. Measured from the top of the arch, the bridge is 26.5 m high. The H-shaped glass houses on both ends of the bridge represent the two H's in the name of the location, Haihe. The Guo Tai will be the first bridge in Tianjin to allow visits to its inner structure, with staircases and viewing platforms to serve visitors. Tendering began in September 2005 and detailed design is to be completed in June 2006. The entire project will be completed in 2008, with construction cost at US$25 million and total investment US$62.4 million.

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