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development thereon should likewise be much more ambitious in nature. In order to examine the idea, it may be necessary for the Council, in consultation with the P.W.D., to commission consultants to advise on such matters.
Before turning to other subjects, I should like to express my thanks to the department for their hard work, the Government for its support, and the Public Works Department, particularly the Architectural Office and the Crown Lands Office, for their co-operation, and at the same time exhort them to even greater efforts in the future.
I spoke at length last year on pollution control. I would like to bring the Council up to date on the activities of the Advisory Committee on Environmental Pollution, or EPCOM as it is known, on which I serve as Chairman of the Water and Land Pollution Sub-Committee.
Over the last year, a great deal of EPCOM's time has been spent in considering a series of reports produced by consultants who were employed by Government to review the state of the environment, and to formulate proposals for comprehensive legislation to protect the environment. One of the consultants' early recommendations was for the establishment of a central Environmental Protection Unit to set guidelines for pollution discharges, and to co-ordinate Government's pollution control efforts. EPCOM endorsed this recommendation last year, and it was subsequently accepted by Government. The new posts for the Unit are pitched at a fairly high level because of the need for officers who not only understand the technicalities of pollution control, but also appreciate the potential impact of control measures on both the environment and the economy. The new Unit will be headed by an Environmental Protection Adviser, assisted by specialists in the four key fields—air, water, noise, and solid waste disposal. The post of Environmental Protection Adviser is now being advertised both locally and overseas, and with luck, someone should be appointed to the position within the next few months.
The consultants are now producing detailed proposals for new legislation to control pollution, and for the staff needed to put the legislation into effect.
Apart from providing advice to the Secretary for the Environment on the many problems that have been put before the Committee, EPCOM has also expressed itself publicly on a number of issues, such as the removal of the highly polluting tanneries from Sheung Shui, which, as members know, was satisfactorily accomplished in August this year. The restoration of the once badly polluted Sutlej River is progressing, thanks to the efforts of staff of the Urban Services Department.
This has been a most encouraging year for EPCOM, during which we have seen real progress towards the formulation of effective legislation to protect the environment and towards the establishment of a professional Environmental Protection Unit.
From Pollution to the Arts. As one of the many who thoroughly enjoyed the Asian Arts Festival, and which added lustre to the Urban Council's reputation in cultural presentation, I wish to add my own congratulations to your Committee, Mr. Chairman, and especially the Department, for their efforts and persistence in bringing it about. I know it was damned with faint praise initially, but all who viewed the Tokyo Ballet's exquisite dancing, or thrilled to the operatic arias in the Gala Concert, are anxious to see and hear more next year. With so much talent on our door-step, there seems a unique opportunity to combine both European and Asian arts in future Festivals.
On the subject of housing, and as one of the Councillors appointed to the Authority, and as Chairman of its Building Committee, I feel I should record at this meeting, the dynamic expansion of its scope and works.
Since April 1973, when the present Housing Authority was formed, 25 building contracts have been awarded, with a total value of about $840 million, to provide accommodation for 318,000 people. Already eight of these contracts have been completed, providing accommodation for 108,000 people.
Between now and the end of the current financial year, six more building contracts will be let and a start will be made on two redevelopment contracts which will eventually result in better housing for 100,000 more people.
Farther along, but at an advanced stage of planning, are even more projects to provide improved housing for hundreds of thousands of more people.
In short, there are now 56 Housing Authority estates in existence, and the 57th, Lai Yiu Estate overlooking Kwai Chung, will start taking in its first tenants by Chinese New Year, starting with one twin-tower block of 730 flats, which will become the happy new homes of 730 families.
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