HONG KONG
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
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before. The results could be seen in the new buildings going up all round the harbour and in the new towns. Old dockyards disappeared and were replaced by massive housing developments such as Taikooshing; old godowns on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront were replaced by the Ocean Centre and Harbour City developments; the MTR 'hole' at Admiralty was topped by a massive complex of commercial and office buildings; empty near wasteland in Tsim Sha Tsui East was transformed into thriving streets of offices, shopping centres and hotels; the gap between Wan Chai and Central disappeared and the Wan Chai reclamation, all but empty for many years, began to fill with substantial new buildings. During this period, the topography of Hong Kong was experiencing its biggest transformation ever.
The Crucial Role of Power Supplies
The growth of the economy and of the population naturally gave rise, and continues to give rise, to an expansion in the demand for basic services, particularly water and electricity. Water supplies are provided by the government. Electricity is provided by two private groups of companies and is equally crucial for industry, commerce and domestic existence. Any failure to meet peak demand for electricity, resulting in power cuts, could be crippling in a place such as Hong Kong, so heavily reliant on lift services and air conditioning in its high-rise buildings and on electricity for industry, railways and trams. The companies have, therefore, always planned well ahead for additional capacity to meet expected demand.
In the late 1970s, both groups of companies, China Light and Power (CLP), supplying Kowloon, the New Territories and some outlying islands, and Hongkong Electric (HEC), supplying Hong Kong Island and Ap Lei Chau and Lamma islands, started work on new power stations to contain dual-fire coal oil generating units. The CLP group's Castle Peak 'A' station at Tap Shek Kok was completed by the mid-eighties, with four 350 megawatt (MW) units. Construction is still proceeding on the adjoining Castle Peak 'B' station which, when completed in 1990, will contain four 677 MW generating units, two of which are already in operation. When finished, the combined stations will have a total capacity of over 4 000 MW, creating the largest power station complex in Southeast Asia and one of the largest in the world. The power is transmitted by a 400 kilovolt (KV) overhead primary transmission system, 90 kilometres long, which circles the New Territories and links in to sub-stations.
HEC's new complex on Lamma Island was started at about the same time and the first phase of 750 MW was completed in 1985. The second phase will add another two 350 MW units. Almost all transmission is carried underground or by submarine cable. The two systems are interconnected across the harbour and can exchange power both ways.
These new power systems, built by privately-owned companies, are huge investments, among the largest in Hong Kong and in a league with the MTR. The payback period for some of their borrowings stretch beyond the end of the century.
The Early Eighties - How Much of a Slowdown?
After the period of rapid economic growth from 1976 to 1981, which saw the GDP almost double in size in six years, there was a definite slowing of growth in the years 1982 to 1985. But it was certainly not a stoppage, and the GDP in 1985 was still more than 20 per cent higher in real terms than in 1981. The really bad years were 1982 and 1985, in both of which domestic exports fell in real terms. In 1982 this was largely due to the post oil-crisis world recession, which was then at its height. In 1985, on the other hand, the major reason was the