WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1975
GOVERNOR OPENS WORLD'S BIGGEST DESALTING PLANT AT LOK ON PAI
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THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, TODAY OFFICIALLY OPENED THE LOK ON PAI DEŠALTER IN THE NEW TERRITORIES AND SAID THE PLANT REPRESENTED ANOTHER LANDMARK IN HONG KONG'S ENGINEERING HISTORY.
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+THE SCALE AND COST OF THE PLANT, HE SAID, IS AN INDICATION OF THE DETERMINATION OF YOUR GOVERNMENT TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE SUPPLY OF WATER FOR THE WELL-BEING OF HONG KONG'S PEOPLE, AND FOR THE INDUSTRY ON WHICH WE DEPEND.+
SIR MURRAY NOTED THAT THE $480 MILLION DESALTING PLANT WAS THE BIGGEST AND MOST SOPHISTICATED IN THE WORLD, AND HE WAS DELIGHTED THAT THIS 'FIRST SHOULD FALL TO THE HONG KONG WATERWORKS WHOSE ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS MAKE A PROUD STORY.
AT FULL CAPACITY, THE SIX UNITS OF THE PLANT WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FORTY MILLION GALLONS OF FRESH WATER A DAY BY A PROCESS OF DOILING, EVAPORATION AND DISTILLATION OF SEAWATER.
ONE OF THE SIX UNITS HAS NOW SATISFACTORILY COMPLETED ITS TRIAL RUNS, AND WORK ON THE REMAINING UNITS WILL BE COMPLETED BY EARLY NEXT YEAR.
ALL KEY OPERATIONS FOR THE ENTIRE COMPLEX PROCESS, FROM THE PUMPING IN THE SEAWATER TO THE DELIVERY OF POTABLE FRESH WATER TO THE TAI LAM CHUNG RESERVOIR A MILE AWAY, CAN BE OPERATED FROM A CENTRAL CONTROL ROOM IN WHICH ALL FUNCTIONS OF THE PLANT WILL BE MONITORED BY COMPUTER.
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THE COVERNOR SAID IT WAS AN IMMENSE RELIEF TO HAVE THIS NEW SOURCE OF SUPPLY, EQUAL TO ABOUT ONE FIFTH OF FULL DAILY CONSUMPTION, WHICH IS INDEPENDENT OF RAINFALL.
THIS ENGINEERING FEAT, HE SAID, WAS TYPICAL OF HONG KONG, +BOTH IN ITS VITALITY AND DETERMINATION TO OVERCOME NATURAL DIFFICULTIES, AND IN THE OPPORTUNITIES IT OFFERS MEN OF ENTERPRISE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO HELP US TO BUILD BRAVELY FOR OUR FUTURE.+
CONTRIBUTING TO THE PLANT HAD BEEN THE RESOURCES OF JAPANESE HEAVY INDUSTRY, SKILLED LABOUR FROM SOUTH KOREA, EQUIPMENT AND PLANT FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA AND WEST GERMANY, TECHNOLOGY FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM AND AMERICA, FINANCE FROM THE ASIA DEVELOPMENT BANK THE WHOLE BASED ON HONG KONG'S LOCAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.
SIR MURRAY ALSO THANKED THE KWANGTUNG WATER CONSERVANCY AND HYDRO ELECTRIC BUREAU FOR SUPPLYING WATER TO HONG KONG WITH SUCH UNWAVERING DEPENDABILITY OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS. THE INCREASING SUPPLIES HONG KONG HAS RECEIVED FROM THIS MAGNIFICENTLY ENGINEERED SYSTEM HAVE BEEN, AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE, INVALUABLE,+ HE SAID.
/THE GOVERNOR