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FRIDAY, MARCH 21, 1980
+ONLY A FEW WEEKS AGO HER ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OFFICIALLY OPENED TWO PROJECTS THE MODIFIED INITIAL SYSTEM OF THE MTR AND THE HIGH ISLAND WATER SCHEME - WHICH IN THEMSELVES CONSTITUTE MAJOR ENGINEERING FEATS OF THE FIRST ORDER, EVEN BY WORLD STANDARDS. I DOUBT WHETHER ANY UNDERGROUND RAILWAY SYSTEM OF COMPARABLE LENGTH HAS BEEN BUILT MORE RAPIDLY THAN OUR MTR FOUR YEARS AND THREE MONTHS AND I DOUBT TOO WHETHER ANY HAS BEEN BUILT THROUGH SUCH DENSELY POPULATED AREAS, OR INDEED WITHIN THE ORIGINAL ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE. IN DUE COURSE IT WILL BECOME THE MOST HEAVILY UTILISED UNDERGROUND RAILWAY SYSTEM IN THE WORLD PER MILE OF TRACK.
+THE MTR IS NOT ALONE IN THE TUNNELLING BUSINESS EITHER : I WAS SURPRISED TO LEARN THAT 40KM OF TUNNELS WERE CONSTRUCTED FOR THE HIGH ISLAND WATER SCHEME. AND THIS NEW WATER SCHEME HAS NOW BEEN BACKED-UP BY THE IMPORTANT ARRANGEMENTS MADE RECENTLY WITH REGARD TO SUPPLIES FROM CHINA WHICH PROMISES TO MEET OUR FORECAST DEMAND OF UP TO 620 MILLION CUBIC METRES PER ANNUM BY 1994/5.
+AGAIN, AS YOU KNOW, WORK IS NOW PROCEEDING AT FULL SPEED ON THE TSUEN WAN EXTENSION OF THE MTR WHICH SHOULD BE READY FOR OPERATION BEFORE THE END OF 1982. THE MODERNISATION AND ELECTRIFICATION OF THE KCR IS ALSO WELL UNDER WAY. FURTHERMORE, A DECISION IS EXPECTED BEFORE LONG ON A RAIL-BASED SYSTEM FOR THE HONG KONG ISLAND CORRIDOR. INTERCHANGE STATIONS AT ADMIRALTY ON THE ISLAND AND AT KOWLOON TONG WILL ENSURE THAT IN A FEW YEARS' TIME THERE WILL BE AN INTEGRATED RAILWAY NETWORK, REACHING INTO MOST OF THE DENSELY POPULATED PARTS OF THE URBAN AREA AND THE EASTERN NEW TERRITORIES.
+THEN THERE ARE THE NEW TOWNS .... AND HERE WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE REAL CONCRETE RESULTS (AND I USE THAT WORD ADVISEDLY TOO! IN TERMS OF HOMES, FACTORIES, COMMERCIAL AREAS AND OTHER BUILDINGS- AS IS EVIDENT IN SHA TIN, TUEN MUN AND THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING AREAS OF TELEN WAN AND KHAI CHÚNG. CONSIDERABLE DEVELOPMENT IS ALSO THERE FOR ALL TO SEE IN TAI PO AND YUEN LONG- AND SOON WILL BE IN FANLING AND SHEUNG SHUI. BY THE LATE 80S, WHEN ALL THESE TOWNS ARE DEVELOPED TO THE IR FULL CAPACITY, THEY WILL BETWEEN THEM CONTAIN A POPULATION OF AT LEAST 2-1/2 MILLION A FAR CRY FROM THE COUNTRY TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES I CAME TO KNOW SO WELL IN 1945 AND IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED.
+NEEDLESS TO SAY, ALL THIS HAS INVOLVED A GREAT DEAL OF PLANNING AND ENGINEERING EFFORT, WHETHER IN RECLAMATIONS AND CLEARANCES OF LAND, THE PLANNING OF LAYOUTS AND LAND USES, ROADS, WATER SUPPLIES, DRAINS, SEWAGE-TREATMENT-WORKS, AND SO ON. IT IS THE LATEST, AND IN MANY WAYS THE MOST AUDACIOUS, EXAMPLE OF HOW THE ENGINEERING PROFESSION IN ITS WIDER SENSE, HELPED BY OTHERS INCLUDING ARCHITECTS AND SURVEYORS ARE CONTINUING TO CHANGE HONG KONG.
+MR PRESIDENT, GENTLEMEN, BEFORE I EMBARKED ON THE PLEASANT DUTY OF CONSTRUCTING A SPEECH TO DELIVER TONIGHT I DID RATHER WONDER WHAT MANNER OF MEN I SHOULD BE ADDRESSING. WHAT, I ASKED MYSELF, IS AN ENGINEER? ENGINEERS, I KNOW, COME IN INNUMERABLE DIFFERENT MAKES, AND APPARENTLY IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES. THEY ARE VERY CIVIL, ELECTRIFYINGLY CLEVER, MECHANICALLY-STRUCTURED, HEATED, STEAMED AND THEREAFTER BLESSEDLY SANITARY.
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