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A VISION OF THE FUTURE
continuing to develop our transport infrastructure in other areas. The railway section of the Eastern Harbour Crossing opened in August, and the road section in September, four months ahead of schedule. This magnificent achievement by the private sector has brought some much-needed relief both to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) Nathan Road corridor. Other major projects to improve our transport links are on schedule. Route 5 between Sha Tin and Tsuen Wan will open early next year, followed by the tunnel linking Junk Bay (or, as it will be called in future, Tseung Kwan O) to Kwun Tong and the final stages of the New Territories Circular Road. In 1991, the Tate's Cairn Tunnel (already well advanced) and the Kwun Tong Bypass will be completed, to bring comfort and greatly-improved transport connections for the travel-weary inhabitants of Sha Tin and the New Territories.
The Green Paper on Transport Policy published in May gave details of a large number of other road and rail projects which will be launched during the next 10 years. I will not go into all the details. They include a new Western Harbour Crossing; the Hung Hom Bypass; the upgrading of major east-west links in the Kowloon peninsula; Route 7 from the Western Harbour Crossing to Aberdeen, and Route 16 from Sha Tin to West Kowloon. And early next year, a development study will begin of the various rail proposals in the Green Paper.
A transport policy is not simply a matter of building more roads and railways. The Green Paper also set out strategies for improving and expanding public transport and for managing the use of roads to make it possible to keep both people and goods moving. -Road use management is never popular. But we have to be realistic. Hong Kong is a small, densely-crowded territory with only limited space for new roads and railways. We cannot cope with the same levels of private vehicle ownership that are found in other prosperous communities without the city grinding to a halt. The goods vehicle fleet has to be used efficiently to minimise its impact on congestion and the environment. Most of our population travel by public transport. We must do what we can to ensure that they remain willing and able to do so. When all the comments on the Green Paper have been absorbed, the important question of how to do this will be tackled in a transport White Paper to be published early next year.
Technology
Making full use of modern technology is another important priority for an increasingly sophisticated economy like ours. Indeed, we have done a great deal through adopting advanced technology. Our banking and financial services have achieved standards of excellence second to none. Our telecommunications industry is already highly advanced, and the construction of a second network will create new opportunities for competition. The Mass Transit Railway Corporation and Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation have been notable for introducing the best available transport technology.
Other sectors of the economy, in particular the manufacturing industry, are exploring what they need to do to remain technologically competitive in world markets. The government recognises the importance of these efforts. As part of our overall strategy to upgrade the economy, we plan to establish a new Hong Kong Technology Centre. This will provide facilities for new and small high technology companies to share certain common services until they are ready to set up on their own. To emphasise the contribution which we hope our growing academic community can make to our technological progress, we are considering locating the centre close to the City Polytechnic as well as to the new Hong Kong Productivity Council Building.