LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
have been dredged and placed in a week which is equivalent to about four hectares of new land per
week. These modern dredging techniques have been used to form land for the new container terminals.
During 1990, the Fill Management Committee consolidated its role of managing and co-ordinating the use of fill resources for future development. The major tasks of the committee are to identify the demand for fill materials for all government, quasi- government and major private projects, to provide the sources of marine-based fill to meet future needs and to decide on reservation, allocation and utilisation of fill resources in relation to development priorities. In order to undertake these duties the committee's secretariat, located in the Geotechnical Control Office of the Civil Engineering Services Department, maintains a comprehensive database of all known data on fill sources. An investigation of sea bed materials carried out by the office has located vast-volume potential sources of fill. An associated study during the year showed the feasibility of anchoring ships on a sea bed formed by backfilling a marine borrow pit with marine mud.
New Towns and Rural Townships
The initial 10-year housing programme aimed to provide proper living conditions for 1.8 million people. To meet this objective, new town development programmes were drawn up in 1974 to co-ordinate planning and construction activities for the provision of land infrastructure and a full range of social, educational and recreational facilities in the New Territories. Since then, the programmes have been substantially increased and extended into the 1990s. The present population design capacity of the eight new towns at Sha Tin, Tai Po, Fanling, Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan and Tseung Kwan O and rural townships is 3.65 million. At present, nearly 2.2 million people are living in the
new towns.
The New Territories Development Department was created in 1973 to plan and imple- ment the new town development programmes. Since 1986, the department has extended its role to cover further development in the urban areas and its title has been changed to Territory Development Department.
The department is constituted on a multi-disciplinary basis and includes professional officers with expertise in civil engineering, architecture, landscaping and quantity survey- ing. They work closely with the Housing Department, Planning Department, City and New Territories Administration, Urban Services Department, Regional Services Depart- ment and other government departments to ensure that development objectives are met economically, efficiently and in accordance with the development programmes.
In addition to participation by other works departments and consultants, the private sector has also been actively taking part in the development of comprehensive housing schemes within the new towns and rural townships.
Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing
Tsuen Wan New Town extends over the areas of Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Island. Its combined population of some 730 000 people is expected to reach its peak shortly and thereafter level off.
Tsing Yi Island has reached an advanced stage of development: Phases I and II of Cheung Hang Estate, which is the last new public housing on the island, have been
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