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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
MRS. CHOW (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I think we have spent quite a lot of time on this issue, but I really feel that something seems to require ratification here. Dr. HUANG has just now spoken of the Urban Council not necessarily being involved in profit-taking and that we should be more concerned with the public interest. I think that all Councillors here would agree with him. But I think we also have the responsibility to the public to wisely use public funds and I think the issue here really is how to use public funds wisely to do a job. I don't think that we are trying to evade the responsibilities. In fact, I think it has been stated previously that we have agreed to take on the responsibility of the disposal of such abandoned vehicles and there is no question of our backing down on that. The question here is whether we have agreed to setting up the disposal plant, even if eventually proved that it would be unwise for us to set up such by ourselves, financially, logistically, or operationally because another party might be able to do it with more expertise and do it better, and thereby helping the Council more in spending funds wisely. I think that a distinction ought to be drawn here. There is no question of evading our responsibility whatsoever.
DR. HUANG (in Cantonese):- I am grateful for Mrs. CHOW's concern. The U.S.D. has come up with a detailed estimate on the cost of car crushing. Whenever crushing car operation, it requires some $440 and the disposed material can be sold at some $280, so it needs about $159 for car crushing. Expenditure would be about $1.6 million if we deal with 10,000 cars, which is not a large sum, and moreover, we can ask the Central Government to reimburse us.
This question has been with us for more than ten years. We must solve it right away. Hong Kong has not even got one piece of car crushing equipment. It is difficult to talk about expertise because nobody has experience. If we purchase a car crushing equipment, it will be the first car crushing equipment in Hong Kong. Under the circumstances, experience is not a problem.
MR. YOUNG (in English):- Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a supplementary connected to what Dr. HUANG has said. Regarding the discussion on that particular paper, when the department gave costs for car crushing, does Dr. HUANG recall what I said at that meeting, namely that I thought that the figures produced by the Government looked very optimistic to me, and I just could not understand how Government could run an operation and make a profit where commercial people could not do so.
DR. HUANG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I don't remember that it was said that we can gain profit, but private enterprise cannot. If private enterprise will not gain profit, it will not sign a contract. I think this question has been discussed for a long time. I can guarantee that when the two staff return from overseas trip, they will have suggestions on the plant and the kind of equipment we should purchase for car crushing; that plant is not opened by me as I have no personal vested interest. I only hope that this problem will be solved as quickly as possible.
STATEMENT
THE HON. F. K. HU, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT SELECT COMMITTEE (in English):— Mr. Chairman, the opening of the City Hall in 1962 was the start of a new cultural era for the community of Hong Kong. The facilities available at the City Hall have allowed numerous international and local events to be staged over the years. The popularity of the City Hall can be illustrated by the percentage of unsuccessful booking applications for Concert Hall and Theatre in recent years, which are 74% and 64%, respectively. The opening of the Queen Elizabeth Stadium in 1980 was a step to improve the situation. Further developments are already in the pipeline in the shape of the Ko Shan Theatre in To Kwa Wan, the Hong Kong Coliseum, and the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre. These are essentially territory-wide facilities.
The Ko Shan Theatre is scheduled for completion at the beginning of 1983. It will contain 3,000 seats, of which 1,000 will be under cover, with the remaining 2,000 in the open air. The Theatre will play host to a wide range of performances such as Cantonese operas, orchestral concerts, and pop and variety shows.
The Hong Kong Coliseum, situated above the K.C.R. Hung Hom Station, is scheduled for completion in early 1983. It will be a multi-purpose venue containing 12,000 seats. Events staged there will range from indoor spectator sports to orchestral concerts and ballet performances, etc.
Construction work on the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre is already well under way, and the completion date is scheduled for 1985–86. Situated on reclaimed land between the Kowloon Star Ferry and the Space Museum, the Centre has a 2,280-seat concert hall, which will be used for concerts of unamplified music. It will also have a 1,930-seat lyric theatre and a 450-seat studio theatre. The Centre will also house an arts library, restaurants, and administrative offices.
This still leaves problems in catering for district-based amateur groups and events performed for the enjoyment of people at the district level. To alleviate the situation, the Urban Council has launched a series of developments for the construction of District Cultural Centres in high-rise multi-purpose complexes throughout the urban areas. Each of these District Cultural Centres will basically have a 460-seat multi-purpose auditorium, a 140-seat lecture and recital hall, rehearsal and music practice space, exhibition space, and ancillary facilities.
The different projects are split into geographical locations, namely, Central and Western District, Wan Chai, Eastern, Southern, Kowloon City, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok, and Sham Shui Po.
The stages of each project are as follows:
Central and Western District
The New Western Complex is scheduled for completion in 1985, and the Smithfield Complex is under the planning stage.
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