These three Canadian mules, part of a team of six, are under contract to help in the construction of Hong Kong's newest tourist attraction

Six Canadian "experts" arrived in Hong Kong recently on a 14-month contract to help in the construction of MTR Corporation's HK$950 million (US$123 million) Tung Chung cable car project on Lantau.

These "experts" - a team of six pack mules - will help to transport specially packaged construction materials on a route between the future Ngong Ping terminal and a point along the cable car alignment at Nei Lak Shan, a distance of 2 km. The project comprises a 5.7 km cableway linking two terminals at Tung Chung and Ngong Ping and the nearby  Big Buddha tourist attraction, the world's largest outdoor bronze statue.

Project manager of MTRC, Roger Bayliss, said: "The use of mules for transporting construction materials is a completely new idea for a cosmopolitan place like Hong Kong. With mules working on this project, we avoid the construction of temporary roads or temporary towers in the country park, thereby better preserving the natural environment."

Project manager of Maeda Corporation, the building contractor of the Tung Chung project, Archie Blair, said the mules are specially trained for pack transport in hilly environment. "The use of pack transport will give us flexibility especially on days of low visibility and or high winds when helicopters cannot fly."

The mules with two to four year working experience in pack transport have started work after a period of quarantine and acclimatisation in Hong Kong. They'll work for six hours a day and rest on Sundays and public holidays.

The tourist attraction scheduled to be completed in 2006 will offer scenic views of the South China Sea, Hong Kong International Airport and surrounding terrain and waterways culminating in a spectacular view of the Big Buddha.

An international team is already working on the project where the contract for civil engineering and building works has been awarded to Japanese company Maeda Corporation. The cable-way system is supplied by Leitner GmbH, a world leader in the cable-way industry. Operational management will be undertaken by Australian company Skyrail-ITM, owner and manager of Queensland's rainforest cable-way experience in Cairns.  

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