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An indoor stadium, I suppose, fires the public imagination as much as any other, and the Director of Public Works has only very recently in Legislative Council confirmed his hope of seeing its completion in 1972 or 1973. As Members of this Council are aware, a financial limit of $10 million has been set for the scheme, and an attempt has been made to work out, within this limit, a schedule of accommodation. The current proposals, which envisage a system of forced air ventilation, are estimated to cost almost $12 million, and a demand at this stage for costly air-conditioning, as was made by Mr. SALES, would only tend, I fear, to provoke profitless debate and lead to inevitable delay.
The Urban Council, Members may recall, recommended an ambitious scheme embracing a convention hall and facilities for trade fairs and exhibitions in addition to an indoor stadium. Government's response to the recommendation was understandably influenced by the very high capital cost, which was estimated at $61 million, but I believe that the decision to proceed first with the stadium does not necessarily preclude the eventual provision of a convention hall; and Dr. HUANG and Mr. Henry Hu may draw comfort from the fact that an effort is being made to find a site which would allow the whole complex to be built as this Council proposed when the necessary funds become available.
Mr. SALES' plea for "multi-purpose sports halls" is being met initially, that is if I understand his term correctly, by the construction of a covered games' area within a large playground in San Po Kong. I acknowledge some delay in this, but I think it is only fair to say that this has arisen from increasingly ambitious proposals in its design. It was originally to be, as Members may recall, a simple covered area for a variety of games: it has since grown to include a stage for Chinese operas with attendant changing rooms and seating for spectators.
The need to announce a strict order of priorities in a situation where funds are limited, is perhaps best illustrated by reference to a velodrome which Mr. SALES suggested would be needed in the future. My officers have examined this proposal in some detail and have concluded that it would cost in the region of $2 million. There is a body of cycling enthusiasts in Hong Kong but, in view of their small number, it seems to me it would be unrealistic and out of perspective to suggest that we should pursue this further at the present time. I would place the proposed shooting-range in this category, too.
The inclusion of a diving pool among Mr. SALES' list of suggested future needs was disappointing and also surprising, in view of the very careful planning which has gone into the design of the standard swimming pool complexes. Three of these complexes are scheduled to be completed next year and each of them will embrace a diving pool. The Recreation and Amenities Select Committee has also, and only very recently, instructed the department to seek inclusion in the Public Works Programme of a diving pool in Victoria Park.
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I assume that Mr. SALES' reference to a "national stadium" implied facilities comparable with those in countries where Olympic Games are held but, unless a decision were taken to organize an international athletic meeting in Hong Kong, it would be difficult, I feel, to demonstrate the need for so elaborate a stadium in Hong Kong. This should not, of course, be taken to indicate my satisfaction with facilities at So Kon Po. There is an item in the Public Works Programme for considerable improvements to the Government Stadium, and the Secretariat has accepted in principle the need to provide a major football stadium in Kowloon.
In May of this year, I replied to a question in Council about a Civic Centre for Kowloon and said, on that occasion, that Government was unlikely, in view of the many other claims on public funds, to give this serious consideration at present unless it were possible for it to take the place of some other major Urban Council project, such as the indoor stadium. My answer, I might say, has done nothing to discourage Members from pursuing the idea, and I shall be happy to refer the matter again to the Secretariat when discussion in the City Hall Select Committee has refined the proposal and has clarified with greater precision the needs to be met.
This excursion into Kowloon brings me to the last specific proposal which was made by Mrs. Ellen LI. She has long been in favour of building a Chinese garden and I am quite sure that her suggestion has wide popular support. I agree that the recently named "Kowloon Park", which is now being built on the Whitfield Barracks' site, provides an admirable location, and I am happy to record that the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee has included just such a garden in its tentative list of amenities in the long-term development scheme for the park. The Urban Services Department has gone further than this and anticipated Mrs. Li's suggestion to invite knowledgeable opinion to advise on its design. Two local citizens with a known interest in this field have already been asked to offer their ideas on an appropriate layout for a Chinese garden, and I hope that it will not be long before Select Committee Members are in a position to consider them.
To emphasize difficulty, there is a saying that things "don't grow on trees". There is no similar neat little phrase to illustrate the problems of planting trees on which things don't grow but the difficulties are nevertheless very real. A continuing and expanding effort goes into the production of trees and plants to meet Mr. Henry Hu's wish to beautify the city, and no fewer than a quarter of a million trees, shrubs, and flowers are planted out each season. Ways of expanding production are being constantly explored, and experiments are made
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