50
Wednesday, October 16, 1974
However we have now been through all this, we have
taken stock and we know much better where we stand and where
we are able to go and how fast, and where we might draw
back if our resources fall short or accelerate if they
unexpectedly expand. It will be for the Financial Secretary
to spell out the figures next February, in the light of all
the circumstances as they have developed.
But Hon.
Members will have realised even from the broad
terms in which I have spoken to-day, how much we believe
is within our resources as now assessed.
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Carefully conceived plans for housing, secondary
and tertiary education, medical and health services, and
social welfare are all going forward. So too will the
negotiations for the contract for a Mass Transit Railway.
We are able to proceed with the urban road programme, and with
linking the New Towns with the urban areas by the Tuen Mun
motor road to the West, and the twin Lion Rock tunnels and the
double tracking of the Kowloon-Canton Railway to the East.
We expect to start on the construction of new industrial
estates. The private sector too will be embarking on some
dramatic projects such as the new berths for the Kwai Chung
container terminal and the Kai Tak cargo terminal and of
course many others too numerous to mention.
While parts of this address may have struck a note
of uncharacteristic caution, I am greatly encouraged by the
fact that this whole process of careful and detailed stock-taking,
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