Land
5.16
In the first
half of 1982, the Government sold at
Crown Land auctions and
by tender (including letters A/B
tenders) a total of 348 000 square metres of land, of which 78
000 square metres are for industrial use and 270 000 square
metres for non-industrial use. Compared with the first half
of 1981, the total area of land sold increased by 31%, made up
of a decrease of 8% for industrial land and an increase of 49%
for non-industrial land. There is no reliable overall measure
of movements in prices, but it appears that, continuing the
trend which started in 1981, the price of land (except for
prime commercial and residential land in the urban areas)
generally declined further. However, there were signs in the
second quarter of the year that prices had begun to stabilize.
Electricity and gas
5.17
At 5 464 million kilowatt hours, electricity
consumption in the first half of 1982 was 4% more than that in
the first half of 1981. The amount of electricity consumed by
domestic users and commercial users increased by 2% and 10%
respectively. Reflecting the slowing down in activities in
the industrial sector, the amount of electricity consumed by
industrial users dropped by 1%. Electricity exported to China
amounted to 90 million kilowatt hours in the first half,
equivalent to 28% of total electricity consumption in Hong Kong. Gas consumption was 16% higher in the first half of
1982 than in the first half of 1981. Domestic consumption and
commercial consumption rose by 20% and 13% respectively.
Activity in selected tertiary services sectors.
5.18
For public transport, the number of passenger journeys (including those on the Mass Transit Railway), at 954 million, was 4% higher than in the first half of 1981. About
141 million passenger journeys, equivalent to 15% of total
45
/passenger