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96. FUTURE RECLAMATIONS.—I have excluded from the suggested duties of the proposed Harbour Trust, the matter of reclaiming land from the waters of the Harbour for the reason already given, that reclamations are not primarily intended to be for the benefit of shipping. I consider that the work of reclaiming should be undertaken by the Government, who however, would naturally consult the Harbour Trust on every proposed scheme, as it might affect shipping in some way. It is satisfactory to note that reclamation work generally pays, if not more than pays, for itself, on account of the valuable land so obtained.
97. I think that the following works of reclamation, which are shown on the plan attached, should be carried out by the Government as soon as practicable :-
(a) The filling in of the present Typhoon refuge harbour at Mong Kok Tsui (167 acres) and the filling in of about 143 acres at Cheung Sha Wan, together with the formation at the latter place of a new Typhoon refuge in lieu of the former. The total area of land thus reclaimed, would therefore be 310 acres. The new refuge would, on the whole, be better than the old one from the point of view of protection from the winds. It is true it is a little further away, but the extra distance is so small as not to be any detriment. Mr. Nicol's very rough estimate, at to-day's prices, of the cost of the whole scheme, including the reclamation and the construction of the necessary sea-walls, is $12,000,000. I gather that the premiums to be obtained on the sale of the land so reclaimed, would be likely to amount to not less than $24,000,000, while, in addition, the annual Crown rent to be derived from the land, based on present values, would be about $109,700. It does not seem to be necessary to emphasize the desirability of this undertaking, which would give 310 acres of much needed land for development, in addition to an improved refuge harbour.
At a future date, when the need arises for further piers beyond those mentioned in paragraph 92, it would be well to extend this reclamation to the dotted line shown on the plan. This would then involve the rebuilding of the vehicular ferry pier, which would be justified by the land reclaimed and the improved frontage line.
It must be pointed out that the estimates of cost of reclamation do not include anything for dealing with the sewerage problem in the vicinity of both of these reclamations. That would have to be faced but it would appear that there would be an ample margin of money available for that purpose.
I have not gone into detail with regard to the cost of each of these two reclamations, because it is impossible to regard them in any other way than as one scheme.
(b) The reclamation suggested at Cheung Sha Wan would displace certain ship and boat building yards now situated there, and it is proposed that a small reclamation be carried out at Yau Tong Wan (near Lye Mun entrance channel) in order to accommodate the yards so displaced. This is a small matter and I have not inquired into the cost. An approach road would be required at this site.
(c) The reclamation of about 214 acres of land at Tsun Wan should also be carried out. This land could be made available for building sites for residential, industrial and public purposes. The average depth of filling over this area would be small and the cost roughly estimated at $4,750,000. This scheme would undoubtedly pay for itself.
98. The following schemes of reclamation have been brought under my notice :-
(a) Reclamation at Kun Tong and Ngau Tau Kok. The southern portion, at Kun Tong, with an area of about 77 acres, is at present reserved as a site for dumping town refuse, and a small area has already been reclaimed by this means. This is a slow process and the reclamation will take many years to complete. The adjacent northern portion, at
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Ngau Tau Kok, would provide an area of about 134 acres of land suitable for industrial and other purposes. This reclamation might be included in the programme of development, for carrying out at such time as circumstances indicate. Road, and probably rail, connexions would be required and could be provided without great cost.
(b) An extensive reclamation at Kai Tak solely for the air services, with a small typhoon shelter primarily for craft used in connexion with those services. This is a large proposal which would involve a cost of anything up to $12,000,000. I understand that the Government is expected to bear the whole cost of this scheme, and the point naturally occurs as to whether it would not be more economical to remove the Air Port to some other place,say in the New Territories. Air Ports cannot always be placed close to large centres of population.
99. RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT.-As already mentioned, the Railway undertaking has sufficient accommodation at the present time, but if and when things settle down in China, the question of more facilities for the Railway is bound to arise.
It has been suggested to me that the railway station is not in the best position and the plan attached shows an alternative site. If additional wharf accommoda- tion is to be provided to the northward of the Hong Kong & Kowloon Wharf & Godown Company, as previously suggested, then it might be that the needs of the railway could be met without constructing any pier to the east of the Peninsula of Kowloon as proposed by Messrs. Coode & Company, but a berth is shown on the plan attached. The railway should, however, be connected with any new pier on the west and the necessary sidings provided, as also shown on the plan attached.
The reconstruction of the railway station might well be left over for considera- tion at some future time.
100. FERRIES.-Under the policy suggested in paragraph 83, sub-section (1),. the piers of the Hong Kong & Yaumati Ferry Company would still be maintained by the Government, the ferry company paying a suitable annual sum for the privilege of running their ferries, while the leases of the piers used by the Star Ferry Com- pany would be renewed, subject to the payment of a suitable annual sum. The question as to the amount of that payment can, no doubt, be settled by negotiation with the Company.
A point however arises in connexion with the Star Ferry pier at Kowloon. The existing site is not quite suitable and is congested, hence an idea has been put forward to build a new pier as shown on the plan attached. This scheme has much to favour it, but it might well be left over for consideration at some future time when the congestion becomes greater.
The scheme of reclamation between the junction of Queen Victoria Street with Connaught Road and the junction of Murray Road with Connaught Road, already referred to, when carried out will displace the Star Ferry Company's pier at the end of Ice House Street. In this case the same policy as for other piers should be applied. The Harbour Trust could construct the new ferry pier or the Ferry com- pany could do so themselves, as might be negotiated, the rent being fixed accord- ingly.
With regard to the Jubilee Street ferry pier which is used by the Yaumati Ferry Company for their vehicular ferry service, it appears that the existing service is becoming unable to cope adequately with the great number of vehicles that de- sire to cross the ferry at times. This leads to delay and congestion to traffic in the vicinity, which would be intensified by any growth in the passenger traffic. Coupled with this is the fact that in the event of extensive repairs being required to the existing pier a stoppage of the service might occur. Further the present pier is in a somewhat exposed position which makes it difficult to handle the vehicular ferry boats at certain states of the tide, especially when a north easterly wind is blowing. The ferry company are alive to all this and the remedy they pro- pose is the provision of another pier for the vehicular service adjoining each of the present ones. On the other hand, it has been suggested that it would be better
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