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HONG KONG
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
formulated for yet more ambitious developments, stretching into the 21st century, that bid fair, once again, to transform the face of the territory and lift it onto a new plane of activity. The massive size of some of these projects, and the commitment being shown to them, by not only the public sector, but by private capital, both local and overseas, as well, provide an impressive vote of confidence in the prospects for the Hong Kong economy and the stability of its society, not just in the next decade of transition, but beyond it, after Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Looking to the Future
(1) Infrastructure
Some of the more important of the new developments concern the further expansion of the basic economic infrastructure of communications, both internal and external, which are essential for the continued growth of the economy and of social activities. An outstanding example is the Eastern Harbour Crossing, now being built by a consortium of overseas and local private companies at an estimated cost of $3.4 billion. When completed at the end of 1989, this will provide an additional road and rail link under the harbour to relieve pressure on both the existing Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Mass Transit Railway's present line across the harbour. The payback period for the investment involved will run into the next century. The new crossing will later be joined, via a bypass of the industrial area of Kwun Tong, to another tunnel, the Tate's Cairn Tunnel, under the Kowloon foothills to the new town of Sha Tin and its extension at Ma On Shan. This tunnel will also be built by private enterprise and a number of consortia have, again, shown considerable interest in the project. Due for completion in 1992, it will provide an alternative route to the eastern New Territories and much needed relief for the existing heavily utilised Lion Rock Tunnel.
Road access is also being improved, not just between the New Territories and the Metropolitan area, but also to the container port and across the border with China. A new road (Route 5), also largely in tunnel, is now being built to link Sha Tin with the industrial town of Tsuen Wan, next to the container port at Kwai Chung. This will, by 1990, provide an alternative route to the container port for goods from China and the eastern New Territories. Border crossing facilities will also be greatly improved by a major new crossing being constructed at Lok Ma Chau. This will be joined to the New Territories Circular Road (which links up all the new towns) and, when completed in 1989, it will more than quadruple existing border crossing capacity to some 50 000 vehicle movements a day.
The modernisation and electrification of the Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR) line from the border to Kowloon has also been a major factor in revolutionising the transport situation in the New Territories. Since it commenced service in 1982, passenger movement has increased by some six times to almost 350 000 per day and is still rising. The movement of freight has also increased from 1.073 million tonnes in 1981 to 2.265 million tonnes in 1987. Further land reclamation from the harbour at the terminus at Hung Hom will substantially expand the area of the freight terminal and thus the capacity of the railway to handle freight.
The port, also, is being expanded. Two more terminals are being built by private enterprise to add to the existing five terminals at the Kwai Chung container port. This will increase the number of berths from six to nine and, together with the provision of additional backup areas, should increase handling capacity by some 50 per cent above