LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun, in the West New Territories, is developed mainly on land reclaimed from Castle Peak Bay and on platforms formed in the valley between Castle Peak and the Tai Lam Hills. Up to late 1993, about 1 000 hectares of land had been provided by the government and the private sector for development.
About 70 per cent of the town's population of some 430 000 live in public housing developments, which comprise 11 public rental estates and 14 home ownership and private sector participation schemes. Within the next five years, three more home ownership and private sector participation schemes will be developed to accommodate an additional 23 000 people. Together with some low-density private housing developments along the southeastern coast, the new town will provide homes for about 460 000 people by the mid-1990s.
A marina was substantially completed along the southeastern coast of the town during the year. This private development consists of 19 residential buildings, hotels, shops and recreational facilities, including berths for 300 boats.
Light manufacturing industries, including plastics, garments, metal, electronics and textiles, dominate in Tuen Mun. The existing industrial areas provide floor space for about 2 200 companies and jobs for about 40 000 people. Over 80 per cent of the workers employed in the factories live in the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long areas.
The backbone of the transport service serving the town, and linking it with Yuen Long, is the Light Rail Transit system. Provision has been made for its future extension within the Tuen Mun region.
A 125-hectare site in western Tuen Mun has been earmarked for special industries and a terminal for river trade with China to be developed by the private sector. Reclamation work for the special industry area is scheduled to commence in 1994. In late 1993, a planning and engineering feasibility study was completed for an even larger reclamation to the north of Tap Shek Kok in Tuen Mun West, for both deep waterfront industries and cargo-working terminal development. Construction work is about to begin on a new thermal power station, with a 5 000MW capacity, at Black Point.
Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and the Northwestern New Territories
Yuen Long town was first developed in the early 1970s. Its population, which stood at 120 000 at the end of the year, is expected to grow to 140 000 early in the next decade.
Development is spreading to the Tuen Mun-Yuen Long Corridor. The rural area is being rejuvenated, with new infrastructure providing for improved rural development.
To keep pace with the rapid development, five major infrastructure contracts in Tin Shui Wai were completed during the year, while another is in progress. Phased completion of these contracts provide access and service facilities to private and public housing developments.
Land formation for the first stage of the Light Rail Transit link to Tin Shui Wai was completed in late 1992 and train services commenced in early 1993. Both the Tin Shui Wai light rail routes to Yuen Long and Tuen Mun and the new town itself were officially opened by the Governor on March 26.
The two public housing estates, Tin Yiu Estate and Tin Shui Estate, are being completed in phases. The first residents moved into their new flats less than five years after major engineering works started in late 1987. They were followed shortly afterwards by the
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