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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
items of equipment used by government departments, including the Medical and Health Department.
The Hong Kong Telephone Company provides telecommunications services within Hong Kong. With more than 24 telephones to every 100 people, Hong Kong has the second highest telephone density in Asia. At the end of 1976 there were 1.1 million telephones in use. By the early 1990s the number is expected to approach two million.
During 1976 four new exchanges were added-at Discovery Bay, Pak Tin, Ngau Tau Kok and Sham Tseng-bringing the total to 56. In March the company intro- duced International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) and subscribers in four exchange areas can now dial their own calls to 10 other countries. This facility is to be expanded progressively.
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Hong Kong's international telecommunications services are provided by Cable and Wireless. Services available include public telegram, international and local telex, international telephone, data transmission and leased circuits for private communica- tion networks. These are provided via various communication systems, such as the international satellite telecommunications system, submarine telephone cables, tropo- spheric scatter system, microwave and high frequency radio.
The international telephone service is provided by Cable and Wireless in conjunc- tion with the Hong Kong Telephone Company, and more than two million calls were handled during 1976. The international exchange is capable of handling up to 8,300 calls an hour.
Automatic switching of telegraph and telex messages is provided by computers. An average of nine million messages a day are switched through eight computer processors. The telex exchange caters for more than 5,000 subscribers, but provision is being made for a capacity of up to 10,500 subscribers in 1977.
Mass Transit Railway
The 15.6-kilometre modified initial system of the mass transit railway is to link Central District on Hong Kong Island with Kwun Tong in Kowloon.
Work on the railway was begun at the end of 1975 and by the end of 1976 all the major contracts of the 25 civil engineering and 10 electrical and mechanical engineering contracts were let at a total price which was within the estimates. In addition, con- tracts were let for the construction at the Kowloon Bay depot of the foundations and podium which will support housing and commercial development above the depot. Included in the development will be homes for 25,000 people.
The total cost of building the modified initial system is $5,800 million at prices adjusted for escalation to 1980, when the system will go into full operation. All debts, including interest charges amounting to a further $1,000 million, will be repaid by 1991-2. The financing arrangements are: $800 million in cash from the Hong Kong Government in return for equity; $1,700 million in the form of export credit finance; and $3,900 million in short and medium term credit facilities. In addition, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation has raised a $400 million 10-year bond issue on the Hong Kong market.