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COMMUNICATIONS
tunnel between Hung Hom and Causeway Bay. The value of the contract is $272,533,333 and is the largest single contract ever awarded in the history of the Colony.
On the September 1, 1969, the Governor broke the ground and unveiled a plaque at Hung Hom commemorating the start of work on the tunnel. Preliminary works were then put in hand and the fabrication of steel tunnel units has commenced.
POSTAL SERVICES
The development of Postal services continued in 1969 with post- ings to all destinations of more than 165.8 million postal articles, representing an increase of more than 11 per cent over postings for the previous year. Items delivered locally exceeded 130 million and over 1.6 million were handled in transit. Total Postal statistics are given at Appendix XXXVIII.
Counter business at all Post Offices includes the sale of stamps, acceptance of registered articles and parcels, and the issue and payment of money orders and postal orders. Special services, used mainly by the business community, such as business reply facilities, cash on delivery parcels, private boxes and bags, postage meter machines and arrangements for bulk postings, are available. There are two postal deliveries a day, excluding Sundays, in all but the most remote rural areas.
A high percentage of mail posted is destined for abroad and since separate despatches to individual countries are established whenever justified by the volume of mail availabe for despatch, direct despatches are actually made up to more than 203 different places overseas. The train services between Kowloon and Lo Wu form the main link for the conveyance of mails to and from the People's Republic of China.
Three new post offices were opened during the year, bringing the total of offices to 57 including one Mobile Post Office operating in the New Territories. Of the three new post offices two were established on Hong Kong Island at Happy Valley and Hennessy Road; the other was opened in the New Kowloon at the Sau Mau Ping Resettlement Estate. Temporary post offices were provided for the 3rd World Congress of the Universal Federation of Travel