Tseung Kwan O New Town

Infobox Hong Kong new town
name=Tseung Kwan O 將軍澳
area=10.05
population=290,095
population_as_of=2001
density=28,865
development year=Late 1980s
district=Sai Kung District
url= [http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/sk/english/welcome.htm]

Tseung Kwan O New Town (zh-t|t=將軍澳新市鎮) is one of the nine new towns in Hong Kong, mainly built on reclaimed land in the northern half of the Tseung Kwan O, after which it is named.

Geography

Although lying within Sai Kung District in the southeastern New Territories, the new town is often incorrectly regarded as part of Kowloon due to its close proximity to the city. The total development area of Tseung Kwan O, including its industrial estate, is about 10.05 km².

History and urban development

The Hong Kong Government had been interested in developing a new town at Hang Hau because of its proximity to the urban area. The project was postponed for a long time owing to the extensive scale of reclamation in the bay, which is rather deep. It finally started under the name of Tseung Kwan O.

The New Town was developed in three phases. The first phase encompassing Northern Tseung Kwan O, which includes Po Lam MTR Station and Hang Hau Station, while the second and third phase encompassing Southern Tseung Kwan O, which includes Tseung Kwan O Station (Town Centre) and Tiu Keng Leng Station.
* Phase I - Hang Hau, Po Lam, Siu Chik Sha, Tsui Lam
* Phase II - Town Centre North
* Phase III - Town Centre South, Pak Shing Kok, Tiu Keng Leng, Tai Chik Sha

The planning of the new town has been centred along the MTR-corridor, with more than 80% of the population living within 5 minutes of an MTR station, with huge residential complexes surrounding the MTR stations. As most of the residential complexes surrounds the MTR station, there are huge parks in the rest of Tseung Kwan O New Town.

Population

According to [http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp statistics from the 2001 Census] , the population of Tseung Kwan O New Town is around 290,095.

As Tseung Kwan O is not considered a formal entity in the census, the above population figure takes into account residents of the following breakdown figures in Sai Kung District which comprise Tseung Kwan O New Town: Hang Hau, Sheung Tak, Tsui Lam, Hong King, Po Lam, Yan Ying, Wan Hang, King Lam, Hau Tak, Fu Yu, Tung Ming, On Hong, and Kwon Ming.

The other three census areas in Sai Kung District - namely Sai Kung Central, Pak Sha Wan, and Sai Kung Islands - are not within the new town.

Facilities

Tseung Kwan O Hospital is located on Po Ning Lane in the Hang Hau area. A public sports centre and a library are situated by the roundabout at the end of Tseung Kwan O Tunnel Road. Tseung Kwan O lacks a performing arts centre.

ports

Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground is being built for the 2009 East Asian Games. It will be completed in early 2009 and will also host Hong Kong First Division League matches.

hopping

Tseung Kwan O has several major shopping complexes:

The largest shopping centre is Metro City (Chinese: 新都城) located by Po Lam MTR Station. Metro City is divided into three phases and contains most of Hong Kong's major chains such as Park'n Shop (supermarket) and Fortress (electronics) in addition to a selection of restaurants ranging from Maxim's Chinese Restaurant to McDonald's and everything in between.

Hang Hau MTR Station is surrounded by an extensive network of mid-sized shopping arcades linked by footbridges. The mainstay of this multifarious complex is the Jusco department store at East Point City (Chinese: 東港城).

Tseung Kwan O Town Centre (Tseung Kwan O MTR Station) is home to Park Central (Chinese: 將軍澳中心) and Tseung Kwan O Plaza (Chinese: 將軍澳廣場). Both complexes are very new and relatively underdeveloped with little more than a handful of restaurants and small shops.

Industrial estate

Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate is located in the southeast of the town. It is the site of an MTR depot and TVB City, the headquarters of Hong Kong's largest television broadcaster. The future mass housing development "Dream City" will be built just north of the industrial estate.

Bus routes 797M (NWFB) and 298E (KMB) connect the industrial estate to southern Tseung Kwan O. A spur line of the MTR's Tseung Kwan O Line is already under construction and, when completed, will provide easy access to the industrial estate from Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

Transport

Rail

Tseung Kwan O is served by the MTR metro systems's Tseung Kwan O Line, which currently has four stations in the new town:
* Tiu Keng Leng
* Tseung Kwan O
* Hang Hau
* Po LamAll stations are either connected to or in the proximity of shopping centres and large private housing developments.

Bus

The new town is also connected by a well-covered public bus and minibus network. Hong Kong's three major bus operators all have routes with termini in Tseung Kwan O:
* Kowloon Motor Bus serves mainly Po Lam and Hang Hau areas.
* New World First Bus serves Tiu Keng Leng and most of southern Tseung Kwan O.
* Citybus provides transport to the airport at Chek Lap Kok.

Roads

Several main roads lead to Tseung Kwan O:
* Tseung Kwan O Tunnel (Route 7), connected to Kwun Tong.
* Po Lam Road, connected to Kwun Tong.
* Hang Hau Road and Ying Yip Road, connected to Sai Kung and Clear Water Bay.
* Wan Po Road, connected to Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate.

Photo gallery

ee also

* List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong

References

* [http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/about/achievements/regional/regi_tko.htm Civil Engineering and Development Department: Tseung Kwan O New Town]
* [http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp Census and Statistics Department: Statistical Tables]

External links

* [http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/sk/english/welcome.htm District Council website]
* [http://www.info.gov.hk/eac/pdf/distco/maps/dc2003q1.pdf Electoral Boundary Map 1]
* [http://www.info.gov.hk/eac/pdf/distco/maps/dc2003q2.pdf Electoral Boundary Map 2]
* [http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/about/achievements/regional/regi_tko.htm Tseung Kwan O New Town]
* [http://tkoweb.info The Website of Tseung Kwan O (Informal) - Chinese Version Only]