quarters attended a brief ceremony at the Sham Chun Reservoir to inaugurate the scheme.
1.06. In January tenders were invited for the supply and erection of a sea water distillation plant of either two or three million gallons a day capacity. Though this out-put will not make any significant contribution to full demand, which is now running at 120 million gallons of water a day, the experience gained in the operation of the plant will be extremely valuable. Future planning must take into account the possibility of large-scale desalination.
1.07. The summer of 1964 saw an unprecedented number of typhoons and the resulting rainfall, coupled with the increased storage provided by Shek Pik Reservoir and the increased quantity available from China, made it possible to provide a 24-hour supply of water from the 1st September, 1964 throughout the winter and spring.
1.08. The typhoons, however, severely tested the department's emergency organization, and the officers concerned, including personnel from several firms of contractors on the P.W.D. list, were frequently called out in dangerous conditions. All deserve the highest praise. The main impact fell, as usual, on the Roads and Drainage Divisions of the Civil Engineering Office and the Buildings Ordinance Office.
1.09. The Government Civil Engineer submitted two reports which are likely to have very far-reaching effects on the future of the Colony. These reports, the first on the development of Castle Peak and the second on the development of Sha Tin, investigate the possibility of developing these two areas into new towns each with a population of something over one million people. The reports were under consideration by Government at the end of the year. Meanwhile, the development of the new towns at Kwun Tong and Kwai Chung continued.
1.10. The Resettlement building programme broke all previous records. Domestic accommodation to house about 134,000 people was completed during the year and handed over to the Resettlement Department. The first of the 16-storey blocks, at Tung Tau, was completed and adjoining this block was the first of the new standard 6-storey annex schools. Expenditure during the year on the Resettlement building programme amounted to $102.4 million.
1.11. Much thought was again concentrated on road improvements and road reconstruction, and work commenced on two major flyovers; one in Hong Kong and one in Kowloon. A new vehicle ferry service, running between North Point and Kowloon City, went into operation.
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