CONFIDENTIAL
-4.
11.
The publicly financed housing programme made good progress in 1969, new accommodation for 123,600 people being provided in 17 resettlement blocks and 11 Government Low-cost Housing blocks. Over a third of the population of just over four million is now housed in public and publicly-aided housing, with over one million in resettlement accommodation alone.
12.
Engineering works also made good progress, with the completion of the first section of the new waterfront road on Hong Kong Island, the start of large scale improvements to the north-east Kowloon road network adjoining Kai Tak Airport, and the formulation of a $500 million 5-year road construction programme. Consultants have been engaged for further investigations into a mass transit system, in the form of an underground railway, to link Kowloon and Hong Kong and particularly to improve communications in Kowloon. If adopted, the cost of such a system is likely to be in the region of $2000 to $3000 million.
1969 saw the completion of preliminary studies for
Recent
13. a new Container Terminal at Kwai Chung New Town. accelerated developments in container shipping have underlined the need for Hong Kong to have facilities to handle the most advanced fully containerised ships now planned, and arrangements are therefore being made to call for tenders for the early development of four berths at the Terminal. Meanwhile, to provide for improved container-handling facilities in the short term, land grants were made, by private treaty, to two owners of existing terminal facilities. A third grant is under consideration.
14.
Work has begun on the construction by private interests (but with 25% Government financial participation) of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel for road vehicles between Kowloon and Hong Kong.
15.
The decision has now been taken to proceed with a 2530-foot extension of the runway at Kai Tak Airport, at a cost of $120 million (£8 million). The need to raise safety margins, and the ever increasing traffic at Kai Tak, did not permit of any delay on this scheme once engineering studies had been completed. However, it is still hoped that the very considerable benefits to the United Kingdom from her control over the grant of air traffic rights in Hong Kong, which generally act to the detriment of the Colony, will be reflected in a loan or other financial assistance to help spread the incidence of the cost of this extension. The extension is only one item in comprehensive proposals for the development of airport facilities, the total cost of which will be about $300 million (£20 million) at current prices, over the next five years.
/16.
CONFIDENTIAL