INDUSTRY AND TRADE
management, product design and development, and industrial automation services. It completed 2 100 laboratory-based assignments.
To facilitate the transition to high value-added products, HKPC invited local companies to join consortia to share the design and development costs of new products, namely a notebook computer, a 900-megahertz indoor cordless telephone and a palmtop computer. Thirty companies took part in these projects.
The HKPC organised 622 training courses for 11 900 participants, covering management and supervisory techniques, advanced programming and electronic data processing, and a range of technology programmes for various industries. In-plant courses continued to be popular and 114 programmes were organised during the year to meet the specific training needs of individual companies.
Eight overseas study missions were organised during the year for local industrialists to gain first-hand information on the latest technology in various areas, including precision machining, textile machining and clothing manufacturing technology, quality control circles, total quality control and just-in-time systems, die casting technology, wastewater treatment technology and environmental and pollution control technology.
HKPC is the government's agent for all matters concerning the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO). During the year, under the sponsorship of the APO, HKPC held three regional seminars on managerial productivity, industrial pollution control and strategic information technology management. In addition, HKPC hosted the 32nd Workshop meeting of Heads of National Productivity Organisations in February 1992.
Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation
Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation is responsible for developing and managing industrial estates in Hong Kong. It offers developed land in its industrial estates at cost to companies with new or improved processes and products which cannot operate in multi-storey factory buildings. The corporation now has two industrial estates in the New Territories, at Tai Po and Yuen Long. A third is under construction at Tseung Kwan O. The industrial estates are fully serviced with roads, drains, sewers, electricity and water. Companies on the estates design and construct their own factory premises to meet their specific requirements. They are required to adopt appropriate environmental protection measures to meet current standards.
Currently, 108 factories are operating in the Tai Po and Yuen Long Estates while more are being built. On the Tai Po Estate, which has 73 hectares of industrial land, only one site of about 1.6 hectares is vacant. The Yuen Long Estate has 67 hectares of land in total, of which 22 hectares are still available for leasing. The land premia are $1,650 and $1,500 per square metre for Tai Po and Yuen Long respectively.
Construction of a third industrial estate at Tseung Kwan O began in August 1991. The first phase will be completed by early 1994, making available 18 hectares of serviced sites. A total of 68 hectares of industrial land will be provided in early 1995. This new industrial estate is only three kilometres from the centre of the Tseung Kwan O New Town. Water- front sites and berthing facilities will be available for ocean-going ships. Applications for sites on this new estate are now being invited and the initial land premium has been fixed at $1,700 per square metre.
The corporation's estates are held under leases from the Hong Kong Government. In accordance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration, such leases have been extended from
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