wednesday, April 7, 1976
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At Sha Tin, the first part of the industrial zone at Fo Tan, totalling
263,000 square feet, had been sold the remainder involved clearance of a
cultivated and inhabited valley and would be a fairly lengthy process.
Mr. Akers-Jones described development at Tsuen Wan as "spectacular
and breathtaking". He said: "Stand on the Tsing Yi bridge and look around
at the container port doubled in size in a year, at the factories on Tsing Yi,
the housing estates going up all around you, and you cannot fail to be impressed
with the magnitude of the effort and scale of development. And here again so
numerous have been the applications for industrial land that I expect that
nearly a million square feet will be disposed of in Kwai Chung in the next 18
months.
Mr. Akers-Jones referred to a statement made in the Legislative
Council in 1974 by the Director of Public Works about the impracticability of
providing a water supply to all areas of the New Territories. "He hoped to
draw up proposals for a realistic programme of water supply development so as
not to frustrate worthwhile development schemes," said Mr. Akers-Jones. Since
then data has been collected on the extent of likely development throughout
the New Territories.
"I believe the time has come when we must get on with some of these
water extension schemes: failure to do so is inhibiting development and
preventing us from realising the full potential of the land resources available
to us
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Mr. Akers-Jones said it was "absurd" that Sai Kung should be short
of water "next door to our biggest reservoir", particularly as there was no
doubt about the great interest and willingness to invest in Sai Kung being
shown by private developers.
The Secretary
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