HISTORY
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time since the war until by the end of 1950 it was thought to be around 2,060,000. Since then, however, due partly to the arrival of more refugees from China but principally to a high rate of natural increase, there has been another steady rise, bringing the population to the estimated figure of 3,014,000 at the end of 1960.
Intense and unprecedented development has accompanied this growth of population. One of the most striking features of the post-war years has been the steadily increasing part which the Government has begun to play, directly or indirectly, in the provision of housing and other forms of social services for the poorer sections of the community. New low-cost housing schemes, of the conventional type or by way of multi-storied resettlement estates, have called for a heavy investment of public funds. New schools, colleges, clinics, hospitals and other essential facilities have been provided as quickly as physical resources and the training of staff will permit-on a scale unprecedented in the Colony's history. Yet, despite the substantial progress already made and the many new projects already being contemplated, the demand continues and is still far from being satisfied.
Private building on a wide scale has transformed- and modernized much of the urban areas and the more accessible parts of the New Territories. Particularly in Kowloon and Tsuen Wan, industrialists have opened large modern factories producing a wide range of goods for export throughout the world. To meet the demand for more land for industry and housing, the Government has continued to carry out many new reclamations principally in the central district, Causeway Bay and at various points on the northern shores of the harbour, whilst the investigation of the potentialities of new areas for development is constantly in hand. Reservoir capacity also has been doubled and is being further enlarged.
The spectacular growth of new factories and workshops and the Colony's need to keep pace with world-wide advances in production, management and marketing techniques have been accompanied by ever higher standards of factory inspection, new labour legislation, and constantly increasing official concern with trade promotion, and technical and vocational training.
The Government has embarked on a large-scale reconstruction of the Colony's road network. More rigorous traffic controls have