PRODUCTION
Doxford diesel engine. Castings of up to 30 tons in weight can be handled in the foundries. Dry-dock facilities are now available in six granite dry-docks up to 787 feet in length, and in patent slipways capable of accommodating vessels up to 420 feet in length and 4,000 tons displacement. There are two stationary hammerhead cranes capable of lifting up to 150 tons.
Other heavy industries in Hong Kong are represented by 16 iron foundries employing 400 workers and four mills for the rolling of iron and steel bars and rounds, which employ about 800 workers. The bulk of production is utilized locally, but some is shipped to other South East Asian territories.
Arrangements are now in hand by one factory for the setting up of a steel plant, in the Colony, for the melting of steel scrap obtained locally, into mild steel reinforcing bars for building construction and other purposes in South East Asia. It is expected that this plant will provide employment for at least one thousand workers.
Light Industries
A wide range of light industries exists in the Colony, manufacturing varied products of increasingly good quality. The most important of these industries are detailed below.
Textiles. The textile industry has grown enormously since 1948 and now employs the largest labour force in the Colony, estimated at over 30% of the total number of workers employed in registered and recorded factories. There are 13 cotton spin- ning mills in Hong Kong, operating at present a total of The 213,000 spindles and employing over 10,000 workers. addition of 45,000 more spindles early in 1954 is planned. The counts of yarn spun range from 10s to 42s and can be supplied in single or multiple threads. Total output is about. 7,200,000 pounds weight of yarn per annum, a large part of
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