Celebrating WSP's engineering legacy in Hong Kong

To honour outstanding engineering projects, breakthrough technologies and transformative initiatives over the past 50 years, HKIE has set up the 50th Anniversary Legacy Award for outstanding engineering accomplishments that have had a profound and lasting impact on Hong Kong and the global engineering fields, professions and societies. 

As pioneers and pathfinders, WSP is committed to bring the latest technologies and a culture of innovation to our work to meet community needs for mobility, connectivity, sustainability and resilience. Hence, our decades of project involvements have been honoured at this special award’s infrastructure category. The winners of the top Legacy Award were chosen by a public vote from among 19 shortlisted projects, recognised as the most impactful engineering projects in Hong Kong. 

The HKIE 50th Anniversary Legacy Award and Grand Award

The idea of establishing a rapid transit system in Hong Kong emerged in the 1960s due to the city's increasing population, which necessitated an efficient public transportation solution. Since the inauguration of the initial Modified Initial System (MIS) on 1 October 1979, the MTR system has consistently evolved and now remains as the main public transportation network for the city.

During the planning stage in the 1970s, we used a cutting-edge Subway Environmental System Computer Programme from the US to simulate various aspects of the train operation and design for the MIS, which connected Kwun Tong to Central with 15 stations. We were subsequently involved in the entire Island Line, which was fully opened in 1985. 

Over the past five decades, we have been providing multidisciplinary engineering services for the new lines and stations, system signal upgrades and asset management. Our latest involvements in the MTR system include Hung Shui Kiu Station, the first station in Hong Kong to be constructed on the live tracks of existing railway viaducts, and the two new stations in Tuen Mun.

Grand Award

Prior to establishing a permanent office in Hong Kong in 1978, our initial contribution to the city was an innovative steel tube design for the twin traffic ducts of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, which was submitted during the tender process in 1967. The proposed design utilised a steel shell, thereby eliminating the need for all-concrete sections and a drydock, and was anticipated to reduce construction time by one year. Opened for traffic in 1972, this tunnel has been connecting Kowloon and Hong Kong Island ever since.

Today, we are behind the fundamental data acquisition system of the new HKeToll, which enables free-flow tolling for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and five other government-owned tunnels.

Grand Award

West Rail, now a key part of the MTR Tuen Ma Line, was completed under Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) in December 2003 and at that time Hong Kong's largest civil construction project.

A strategically placed 30.5km-long domestic passenger railway, the West Rail project consisted of nine stations and Pat Heung Maintenance Centre, Asia’s largest maintenance facility. 

We served as the lead consultant and project manager for the Pat Heung Maintenance Centre, Kam Sheung Road Station, and the now MTR headquarters building. We were also appointed as the lead E&M consultant for the Tuen Mun Station and Siu Hong Station on design and construction supervision of station services systems. Moreover, we were the lead consultant for the system-wide tunnel ventilation system design for the West Rail. 

Grand Award

WSP was involved since the early stage of Hong Kong’s latest flagship sports infrastructure, serving as the technical services consultant of the Hong Kong Government. We provided structural, building services, environmental and sustainability, and traffic planning consultant for the preliminary design. Throughout the project, we oversaw the design from the awarded team and prepare evaluation reports and recommendations to the authority to ensure the design meeting the requirements.