Contract signed: Assistant Director of Drainage Services Tsui Wai exchanges documents with Penta-Ocean Construction Company General Manager Takashi Hayashi after signing the $81-million Sheung Wan drainage contract.

The Drainage Services Department has awarded an $81-million contract to Penta-Ocean Construction Company to upgrade Sheung Wan's drainage system.

The contract covers the construction of an underground stormwater storage tank, and electrical and mechanical works. The site above the storage tank and the adjacent land will be reinstated as an open space, with 110 trees and 20,000 shrubs.

This is the third and the last drainage upgrade contract to relieve flooding in Sheung Wan's low-lying areas. The first involves 660 metres of intercepting drains on Queen's Road Central. The works could be completed by June, four months ahead of schedule. The second contract involves foundation works for the Sheung Wan stormwater pumping station and construction is on schedule. The underground stormwater storage tank in the third contract will be operational in 2009. More details can be found here.

Before the stormwater pumping station is built, the department will boost inspection and drain clearance in the area. Messages will be sent to alert residents and shop operators when flooding is likely to occur. In severe weather conditions an emergency team will be mobilised to clear drains.