PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
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the West Kowloon corridor road. In the New Territories, a contract was let for the construction at Tai Po Hoi of a rubble mound which will protect the first stage of the proposed industrial estate reclamation. Nearby, at Shuen Wan, another rubble mound was completed to contain the controlled tip there which will eventually provide land for a recreational area. Minor works carried out at various sites included the installa- tion of new navigational beacons, the repair of existing facilities, and normal main- tenance work to piers and seawalls.
Quarrying
The private quarry industry suffered from the general recession, with a consider- able drop in demand. The prices of crushed rock aggregates supplied by the six quarries run under government contracts fell slightly, while prices of bituminous materials remained fairly steady.
The two government quarries were further developed and modernised. The new asphalt mixing plant at the Diamond Hill quarry in Kowloon was commissioned in April, and dust collection units were added to the existing asphalt plants at Diamond Hill and at the Mount Butler quarry on Hong Kong Island. A contract for the installation of new crushing and screening plant at Mount Butler was started in August. This will increase production capacity and quality while reducing operating costs. Towards the end of the year, the design of a similar scheme for Diamond Hill was being finalised. Tenders were invited for the construction of a haulage road at Mount Butler. This road will give improved access to the quarry working faces and allow safer and more economical blasting techniques to be employed as well as the use of larger and more efficient loading plant.
The materials testing laboratories operated by the quarries section of the civil engineering office of the Public Works Department carried out 83,419 tests on build- ing materials, of which 6,364 were for private firms. Sales of sand through the sand monopoly, which is also operated by the quarries section, dropped by 13 per cent compared with the previous year. Tenders for the supply of manufactured sand, as opposed to marine sand, were invited.
Public Utilities
Electricity
Hong Kong Island and the neighbouring islands of Ap Lei Chau and Lamma are supplied with electricity by the Hongkong Electric Company while Kowloon and the New Territories-including Lantau and a number of outlying islands-receive their supply from the China Light and Power Company. The island of Cheung Chau is served by the Cheung Chau Electric Company. In addition, minor enterprises such as some village co-operatives produce current for certain remote localities.
The three companies are investor-owned, and do not operate under franchise. However, the government does exercise a measure of financial control over the two main undertakings.