Community and Public Relations

Opening ceremonies were held between February and May to mark the
successive completion of the ACP transport corridor's components. Other
public events were organised during the period to promote community
participation in the ACP. These included the Community Chest Western
Harbour Crossing Walk on March 16; a duathlon on the North Lantau
Expressway on April 20; the Tsing Ma Bridge Marathon and 10 Km Race
on May 4 - the largest single individual participation event in the history of
running in Hong Kong with over 5 000 local and overseas runners from
14 countries - and the Community Chest Lantau Link Walk on May 11,
with around 80 000 members of the public participating.

The pinnacle of the celebration programme was the Lantau Link Opening
Ceremony. About 1 000 guests, including mayors and representatives
from overseas cities that have famous bridges and people in Hong Kong
who have contributed to the ACP over the years, witnessed the ceremony
on the evening of April 27.

The ceremony was built around a theme of community participation, and
symbolised the land, sea, and air components - highways, tunnels,
reclamations, bridges and the airport - of the ACP. The colourful
programme featured a 30-minute land parade by 1 100 people
representing Hong Kong's 18 districts, a fly-past by helicopters and
fixed-wing aircraft, a flotilla of boats representing the marine community,
lighting-up of the Link, and a car procession over the Link by members
of the international community in Hong Kong as well as beneficiaries of
the Community Chest. The grand finale was a 20-minute fireworks and
laser display, which included a spectacular 'waterfall' of fireworks
cascading from the deck of the Tsing Ma Bridge.

To provide a vantage point for the public to view the Lantau Link,
NAPCO has established public facilities at north-west Tsing Yi which
include a Viewing Platform and a Visitors Centre. These were well
received by the public, attracting more than 639 000 visitors since their
opening in May and August, respectively. Meanwhile, the ACP Exhibition
Centre at Ting Kau remained popular, with over 437 000 members of the
public visiting it in 1997.

Visits to and briefings on the ACP were given to a wide range of local and
overseas guests, including members of the Provisional Legislative Council,
the two Provisional Municipal Councils and the 18 Provisional District
Boards, and the Airport Consultative Committee; overseas government
officials and parliamentary members; major business, professional and
financial groups; consular representatives; and the news media. In June
1997, an ACP presentation was given at a Minister-Industry Symposium
in Canada attended by over 600 government officials and business leaders
from 18 member economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation.

The AA provided a wide range of programmes to cater for the immense
local and international interest in the new airport. In June and July, about
30 000 people visited the new airport through the 'Getting to Know Our
New Airport' programme jointly organised by the AA and Home Affairs
Department. Press releases and promotional publications such as
brochures, leaflets and newsletters were issued throughout the year to
publicise ACP works progress. Videos on the ACP, the new airport and
the Tsing Ma Bridge were updated and an ACP home page was
established, in addition to the AA pages on the Internet.

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