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THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 1979
AT PRESENT, STUDIES OF SLOPES IN ANOTHER 16 AREAS ARE UNDERWAY.
TOWARDS THE END OF 1976 THE GOVERNMENT DECIDED THAT EVERY SINGLE SIZEABLE CUT OR NATURAL SLOPE IN THE TERRITORY THAT MIGHT AFFECT THE SAFETY OF PEOPLE OR PROPERTY SHOULD BE INSPECTED.
AS A RESULT OF THIS INSPECTION, MR. RODIN SAID, MORE THAN 8,000 CUT SLOPES AND RETAINING WALLS WERE IDENTIFIED.
+ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, WE ALSO MADE A PRELIMINARY INSPECTION OF ALL SIZEABLE FILL SLOPES IN THE TERRITORY. AS A RESULT, ABOUT 2,300 FILL SLOPES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED,+ HE SAID.
FORTUNATELY, MR. RODIN ADDED, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THESE SLOPES WERE FOUND TO BE SATISFACTORY AND REQUIRED LITTLE OR NO PREVENTIVE WORK.
NEVERTHELESS, HE SOUNDED A NOTE OF WARNING: THE PUBLIC AND THE PRIVATE SECTORS MUST BE PREPARED TO PAY FOR THE HIGH GEOTECHNICAL STANDARDS NECESSARY TO ENSURE SAFETY AND ECONOMY IN THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF SLOPES.
HE SAID THAT THE STANDARDS OF SITE INVESTIGATION BORINGS AND LABORATORY TESTING BY MANY HONG KONG SPECIALIST SITE INVESTIGATION CONTRACTORS WERE FAR FROM SATISFACTORY.
SAID.
+THIS RESULTS WHEN CLIENTS SEEK THE CHEAPEST JOB, HE
MR. RODIN WENT ON THIS OFTEN MEANS LITTLE OR NO PROFESSIONAL TECHNICAL SUPERVISION OF THE SITE INVESTIGATION AND LABORATORY TESTING. SOMETIMES, THIS COULD BE MISLEADING AND DANGEROUS SINCE, FOR EXAMPLE, VITAL PIECES OF GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION CAN BE EASILY MISSED FROM THE BOREHOLE DATA.*
IN ADDITION TO BEING PREPARED TO PAY FOR THE HIGH GEOTECHNICAL STANDARDS, HE EMPHASISED, BOTH THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS MUST ENSURE BY THEIR OWN INSPECTION OF THE SITE FORMATION WORKS THAT THESE STANDARDS WERE, IN FACT, BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE CONTRACTOR.
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