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restaurants, a library, welfare premises, children's play spaces, banks,
cooked food stalls and car parks. In particular, they designed this magni-
ficent Commercial Centre which is being officially opened today. Within its
air-conditioned interior are 90 shops, 3 banks, 2 large restaurants, a super-
market, a department store, a cafe and the Estate Office. The Centre will not
only meet the needs of residents of Oi Man, but it will also act as a district
:
shopping centre for the Ho Man Tin area, an example of the way in which com-
prehensive planning can satisfy both local needs and wider community requirements.
Many have contributed to Oi Man Estate, a splendid achievement, which
has been so warmly admired by the many visitors, including Her Majesty the
Queen, who have come to see it. Among those who deserve recognition for their
part in its success are the previous Housing Authority, which in 1969 settled
the basic design, which has been developed in detail by the new Authority and
its officers. Much credit must be given to the architects and engineers of
the Housing Department, to the Contractors, to the Public Works Department
and to the public utility companies. Everyone who has been concerned with
Oi Man will, I am sure, share our pleasure at its completion, which is marked
by the opening of this Commercial Centre.
Oi Man is a great improvement on its predecessors, providing a
standard of comfort and spaciousness far beyond that of the simple blocks of
fifteen years ago. I have no doubt that its standarde will, in time, be super-
seded by higher ones, for it is the Government's objective to continue to
improve public housing to the limits of our resources.
For the average man, life centres around his home. It is here that
he finds the support and affection which transform a bare existence into a
richer life; therefore, for the fulfillment of these basic and unchanging
needs, he craves a decent place in which to live. I can assure you that the
Government recognises this and will continue to pursue with determination and
enthusiasm its ultimate ain which is to provide for all our inhabitants who
/need it,