HKUST Inaugurates Hong Kong's First Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility


	The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, tours the CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility during his visit to HKUST.

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has successfully launched Hong Kong's first wind/wave tunnel facility, thanks to a generous donation of HK$10 million from CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd.

The CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility was inaugurated by the Hon. Tung Chee Hwa, Chief Executive of HKSAR, the Hon. Michael D. Kadoorie, Chairman of CLP Holdings and Professor Chia-wei Woo, President of HKUST at a ceremony held at the university campus this (Friday) afternoon.



	A model of Causeway Bay to be tested in the high speed test section.

"The state-of-the-art CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility is designed to carry out experimental work on research and engineering applications using the wind tunnel and the wave channel. It will provide a sophisticated teaching and research facility for the tertiary community. It is also a versatile tool to solve wind engineering, wave engineering and pollution dispersion problems for the engineering, construction and regulatory communities in Hong Kong," said Professor Kenny Kwok, Director, CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility.

"Civil engineering projects, the construction industry, and the environment are all very important for Hong Kong. We are happy that the University can make one more contribution to the community and the people of Hong Kong in these areas," said President Woo.

"We are grateful to Dr Steven Poon, who was General Manager and Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Board of CLP when the project was planned, and Dr S Y Chung, Director of the Board of CLP throughout the period when the facility was constructed, for their unfailingly strong support over the years," he added.



Flow visualization in Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay.

It is a University Central Facility, and will be operated under the supervision of the School of Engineering. However, it will be made available to users both within and outside of the University for all relevant research and engineering applications.

Construction work for the facility, measuring 61.5 m long, 16.5 m wide and 7.5 m high, began in Spring 1997 with a total budget of about HK$40 million. Besides CLP's donation, an amount of HK$21.52 million was contributed by the University Grants Committee through a variety of grants, and a further HK$7 million came from donations to the University. This project represents a great achievement when the private sector, the government, and a university make up their mind to work together.

For media enquiries, please contact Miss Shirley Tse of the CLP Power Wind/Wave Tunnel Facility on 2358-0216 or Mr King Cheng of the Office of University Development and Public Affairs on 2358-6305 or email pamedia@ust.hk.