26.
-7.
The livelihood of the 350,000 people who live in the
corridor most affected by Kai Tak aircraft noise will dramatically
improve when the new airport opens. Kai Tak itself will be
re-developed.
27.
But the ACP does not only provide us with a new airport,
which we desperately need by 1997, and the other infrastructure
projects, many of which we would have to build anyway in the mid-1990s.
28.
It also provides the springboard for economic growth. In
1991, 30 per cent of our domestic exports, 14 per cent of our
re-exports, and 18 per cent of our imports were carried by air. About
80 per cent of our tourists arrive and depart by air
last year
receipts from tourism amounted to nearly $40 billion.
•
29.
These statistics are fundamental to our economy, and we must
ensure that there is room for the economy to continue to grow. With the
ACP built, we shall not only benefit from an assured route for the
growth of our tourism and exports. We shall also be well placed to
share in the growth of Southern China.
30.
The ACP itself will therefore meet concerns implicit in the
motion. And, as we have frequently said, our projections show that our
capital expenditure on the ACP will take up only about one quarter of our total estimated capital expenditure up to 1997.
31.
The other three-quarters will be spent on schools, social
welfare facilities, environmental protection, and law and order.