SUNDAY, JANUARY 21, 1979
MARKET TOWN DEVELOPMENT AREAS OFFICIALLY BECOME +NEW TOWNS+ ****
THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT IN FUTURE THE DEVELOPING MARKET TOWN AREAS OF TAI PO, YUEN LONG AND FAN LING/SHEUNG SHUI/ SHEK WU HUI WOULD BE OFFICIALLY CALLED +NEW TOWNS+.
THE DEPUTY SECRETARY FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES, MR. JOHN TODD, SAID THAT BECAUSE OF THE SCOPE AND SIZE OF THE DEVELOPMENTS, IT WAS NO LONGER APPROPRIATE TO REFER TO THE AREAS AS +MARKET TOWNS+.
HE POINTED OUT THAT TAI PO WOULD HAVE A PLANNED ULTIMATE POPULATION OF 220,000, FAN LING/SHEUNG SHUI/SHEK WU HUI 170,000 AND YUEN LONG ABOUT 100,000.
+WHEN THEY ARE FULLY DEVELOPED, THE THREE AREAS WILL BE THE SIZE OF MANY LARGE TOWNS OR CITIES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD,+ HE SAID.
+TAI PO WOULD BE COMPARABLE WITH TELFORD AND YUEN LONG LARGER THAN WASHINGTON, TWO OF BRITAIN'S MAJOR NEW TOWNS.+
+OUR THREE SMALLER NEW TOWNS WILL, IN FACT, BE MODERN URBAN CENTRES WITH ALL MANNER OF FACILITIES PRIVATE AND PUBLIC HOUSING, INDUSTRY, SHOPPING AND COMMERCIAL AREAS, TOWN PARKS, CULTURAL, SPORTING AND RECREATIONAL FACILITIES AS WELL AS A WHOLE RANGE OF COMMUNITY AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES.
*THEY TRULY WILL BE NEW TOWNS, ONLY ON A SMALLER SCALE TO THE MAJOR NEW TOWNS OF SHA TIN, TUEN MUN AND TSUEN WAN.+
MR. TODD ALSO POINTED OUT THAT THE SMALLER NEW TOWNS WOULD ALSO BE SERVED BY IMPROVED COMMUNICATIONS, SUCH AS THE BUILDING OF THE SHA TIN TO TAI PO COASTAL ROAD, THE DOUBLE TRACKING AND ELECTRIFICATION OF THE KOWLOON-CANTON ́RAILWAY INTO A RAPID SURFACE SYSTEM AND THE UPGRADING OF THE NEW TERRITORIES CIRCULAR ROAD.
+THESE SMALLER NEW TOWNS WILL PLAY A VERY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE OVERALL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, WHICH HAS BEEN DESIGNED AS THE SPEARHEAD OF THE GOVERNMENT'S HOUSING PROGRAMME,+ HE SAID.
MR. TODD SAID THE GOVERNMENT WAS ALSO SEEKING A SINGLE, SUITABLE NAME FOR THE FAN LING/SHEUNG SHUI/SHEK WU HUI PROJECT, BECAUSE THE AREA WAS BEING DEVELOPED AS A SELF-CONTAINED URBAN ENTITY.
+WE HAVE REFERRED THE QUESTION TO THE TAI PO DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD AND WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT THE MEMBERS, WITH THEIR WIDE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE, WILL BE ABLE TO SUGGEST AN APPROPRIATE NAME FOR THE NEW TOWN, HE ADDED.
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