WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1975
THE GOVERNOR SAID THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL HORIZONS OF HONG KONG HAD DEEN STEADILY WIDENED BY GREAT ENGINEERING PROJECTS. HE MENTIONED THE AIRPORT, THE LION ROCK TUNNEL, PLOVER COVE, THE NEW CITIES NOW GROWING WHERE ONCE THERE WAS SEA OR MUD, THE SKYSCRAPERS, THE HARBOUR TUNNEL AND THE CONTAINER TERMINAL.
AND COMING IN FUTURE, A HIGHWAY TO TUEN MUN, A TUNNEL TO ABERDEEN, A MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY, AND PERHAPS A BRIDGE TO LANTAU.
+THESE THINGS ARE OF VALUE TO US NOT AS EXAMPLES OF THE ENGINEERING ART, BUT BECAUSE THEY IMPROVE THE LIFE OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND THEIR CHILDREN, OR ADD TO THEIR CAPACITY TO EARN A LIVING OR INCREASE THEIR WEALTH,+ SIR MURRAY SAID..
EARLIER, THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS, MR. WILLIAM BELL WELCOMED THE NEW DESALTER AS THE LATEST WEAPON IN HONG KONG'S UNENDING DATTLE AGAINST WATER SHORTAGE.
+ IT IS NOT SUGGESTED THAT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PLANT ELIMINATES THE RISK OF FUTURE RESTRICTIONS, HE SAID. THIS STILL DEPENDS UPON THE CAPRICIOUSNESS OF HONG KONG'S WEATHER.
+BUT THE RISKS WILL BE APPRECIABLY REDUCED.+
MR. DELL SAID THE HISTORY OF THE HONG KONG WATERWORKS SHOWED THAT ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION IN THE PAST AMITIOUS SCHEMES HAD BEEN UNDERTAKEN, BUT UNEXPECTEDLY RAPID POPULATION GROWTH OR SEVERE DROUGHTS HAD MEANT THAT BY THE TIME THEY WERE COMPLETED, THE PROJECTS WERE ALREADY INADEQUATE.
IN 1957, THE TAI LAM CHUNG SCHEME HAD DOUBLED HONG KONG'S WATER STORAGE CAPACITY. STRAIGHT AFTER ITS COMPLETION, WORK BEGAN ON THE LAST SUITABLE SITE FOR A LARGE CONVENTIONAL RESERVOIR IN HONG KONG SHEK PIK ON LANTAU ISLAND.
BUT 1963, THE YEAR OF ITS COMPLETION, SAW THE WORST DROUGHT IN HONG KONG'S HISTORY, AND DESPITE INCREASED SUPPLIES FROM CHINA, THE MOST SEVERE WATER RESTRICTIONS EVER HAD TO BE IMPOSED.
HOWEVER, BY THAT TIME WORK WAS ALREADY UNDER WAY ON THE UNIQUE PLOVER COVE SCHEME, WHEREBY A SEA INLET WAS SEALED OFF, DRAINED, AND FILLED WITH FRESH WATER SUPPLIED THROUGH A VAST NETWORK OF TUNNELS AND INTAKES.
MR. DELL SAID THIS SCHEME HAD MEANT THAT FOR THE PAST EIGHT YEARS HONG KONG HAD ENJOYED A WELL-NIGH UNINTERRUPTED WATER SUPPLY. THE CAPACITY OF PLOVER COVE HAD ALREADY BEEN INCREASED BY MAKING THE DAMS HIGHER AND INSTALLING MORE PUMPING AND WATER TREATMENT PLANT.
/BUT TO MEET
I