NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Director of New Territories Development:
J.R. WHITAKER, M.A.(Cantab.), C.Eng., F.I.C.E., F.I.Mun.E., F.I.T.E.
12.01
GENERAL
The New Territories Development Department which deals with the P.W.D. effort involved in development in the New Territories related to the achievement of Government's housing target has the responsibility of planning new towns and rural centres and providing formed land, roads, drainage and the full range of infrastructure required.
12.02
The Department consists mainly of small interprofessional teams whose principal responsibilities are to prepare planning layouts, to direct the activities of consulting engineers and private architects and to co-ordinate the related work of other Offices of the P.W.D. The teams also prepare and review programmes for the many activities involved in planning and constructing the new towns and rural centres and initiate action to minimise delays and cost, with the objective of producing a balanced development.
12.03 The Department is made up of a Headquarters, three New Town Offices, one for each of the new towns at Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan/Kwai Chung/Tsing Yi (to be called Tsuen Wan for short) and a fourth Branch for development in the remainder of the New Territories. The Department is headed by the Director of New Territories Development, with Project Managers (Principal Government Engineers) based in each of the new towns and a Government Engineer for the remainder of New Territories outside the new towns.
12.04 In June 1974 a Sub-Committee was set up under the Public Works Priority Committee to determine the relative priorities for all public works items in the Public Housing and New Towns programmes, with special emphasis on balanced development and to draw up a timetable for processing these items through the Public Works Programme or the capital works programme of the Housing Authority as appropriate. As a result of the exercise a development programme was drawn up in August 1974 for each of the three new towns and also for the rural New Territories. The development programmes evolved comprised a number of 'packages' which were groups of projects arranged in order of priority. The package concept was aimed at providing both flexibility and provision of balanced development as far as possible without commitments being too widely spread.
12.05
The Department is represented on the following public or inter-departmental committees or boards :-
Committee Representative(s) New Territories Development Progress Committee Director of New Territories Development Sha Tin New Town Management Committee Project Manager (Sha Tin)135