PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
129
During the year expenditure on public housing and associated building work amounted to $169 million, and on all other projects to $204 million.
During the year, as part of the 10-year housing programme, five housing blocks providing accommodation for 16,700 people were completed. Also completed were one estate welfare building, one 24-classroom primary school, two kindergartens and two flatted factories in various housing estates, together with the first phase of the conversion of resettlement blocks at Shek Kip Mei Estate, involving work on six blocks.
By the end of the year work was in progress on 40 housing blocks which, when completed, will provide accommodation for about 157,850 people, while fifteen 24- classroom primary schools, 15 kindergartens, one estate welfare centre, five estate welfare halls and four large commercial complexes were also under construction. In addition, site formation work, planning or preparatory work was in hand or con- struction work was about to start on several housing estates which, when completed, will provide accommodation for a further 110,000 people.
Many varied projects were completed during the year, those most notable on Hong Kong Island were the extension to Shau Kei Wan Government Secondary Technical School, the multi-storey car park at Murray Road, the pharmaceutical manufactory at the central medical stores of Government Supplies Department, a police station at Stanley and a sub-divisional police station at Chai Wan, a block containing 39 married soldiers' quarters at Victoria Barracks, a community centre at Chai Wan, the first stage of Kennedy Town Swimming Pool and a playground at Pokfulam Road.
Among the many buildings completed in Kowloon were the apron services complex at Hong Kong International Airport, a passenger pier, apron docks, air bridges and the piling work for the vehicular deck and multi-storey car park, all forming part of the airport terminal building modifications, together with a college of education at Piper's Hill, the reprovisioning of the Department of the Environment property at Kai Tak, a new building for Radio Hong Kong, the new Lai Chi Kok General Hospital, the first stage of Kowloon District Police Headquarters, and the reprovisioning of Sai Yee Street Playground.
Work completed in the New Territories included the installation of air naviga- tional aids on Cheung Chau, a training school for the Preventive Service, the reprovi- sioning of Marine Department quarters at Tathong Point Light Station, a detention centre for young offenders at Shek Pik, pest control stores, offices and quarters at Rennie's Mill, a swimming pool complex and park at Tsuen Wan and temporary office accommodation for the New Territories development department of the Public Works Department at Sha Tin.
Projects under construction at the end of the year included the installation of secondary surveillance radar on Mount Parker, technical institutes at Kwun Tong and Kwai Chung, an ambulance depot at Mount Davis, an extension to the work- shops and apprentice training practice shop at the Caroline Hill premises of the electrical and mechanical office of the Public Works Department, staff quarters to serve both the newly completed Lai Chi Kok General Hospital and a new mental hospital to be sited adjacent to it, medical clinics at Kowloon East and Kwai Chung