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FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1982
THE ONE-STOP UNIT OF THE INDUSTRY DEPARTMENT HAS NOW ON HAND ABOUT 130 PROJECTS IN WHICH OVERSEAS COMPANIES HAVE EXPRESSED INTEREST IN SETTING UP WHOLLY-OWNED MANUFACTURING LICENSING OR SUBCONTRACTING ARRANGEMENTS.
+ALL THE INFORMATION ON THESE OPPORTUNITIES' ARE READILY AVAILABLE IN THE DEPARTMENT'S ONE-STOP UNIT, WHICH WILL ASSIST AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE TO BOTH LOCAL AND OVERSEAS INVESTORS ON HOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN HONG KONG, HE CONCLUDED.
CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN 1981
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THE TOTAL VALUE OF ALL CONSTRUCTION IN 1981 AMOUNTED TO ABOUT HK$17 000MILLION, THE ACTING SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS, MR NICKY CHAN SAID WHEN ADDRESSING THE BUILDING CONTRACTORS' ASSOCIATION AT ITS ANNUAL LU PAN FESTIVAL DINNER TONIGHT.
HE SAID THAT THE LEVEL OF CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY IN HONG KONG WAS CONTINUING TO GROW AT A REMARKABLE RATE.
+ON THE PUBLIC SECTOR, WORK HAS CONTINUED TO GROW UNABATED AND THE ANTICIPATED EXPENDITURE (EXCLUDING PUBLIC HOUSING AND LAND ACQUISITION) FOR THE CURRENT FINANCIAL YEAR IS EXPECTED TO BE IN THE REGION OF $7 000 MILLION AND $1 250 MILLION FOR PUBLIC WORKS NON-RECURRENT AND RECURRENT ITEMS RESPECTIVELY.
+ IN ADDITION, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT PLANS TO SPEND APPROXIMATELY HK$3 600 MILLION DURING 1982-83 AND THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY AUTHORITY ANTICIPATES THAT THE TOTAL VALUE OF CONTRACTS WHICH WILL BE AWARDED ON THE ISLAND LINE WILL AMOUNT TO APPROXIMATELY HK$6 500 MILLION,+ MR CHAN SAID.
REFERRING TO THE AMOUNT OF CONSTRUCTION WORK OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, MR CHAN SAID IT COULD BE GAUGED BY THE VALUE OF CAPITAL PUBLIC WORKS PRESENTLY PROGRAMMED FOR THE YEARS 1983 TO 1985 AND ESTIMATED AT $22 500 MILLION, EXCLUDING SUCH PROJECTS AS TIN SHUI WAI, LEI YUE MUN BRIDGE AND THE POSSIBILITY OF A REPLACEMENT AIRPORT.
HOWEVER, MR CHAN POINTED OUT THAT THE REMARKABLE GROWTH IN CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY HAD NOT TAKEN PLACE WITHOUT ATTENDANT PROBLEMS.
THE FIRST OF THESE WAS THE SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS.
REFERRING TO THE TRAINING OF SKILLED WORKERS, MR CHAN CONGRATULATED THE BUILDING CONTRACTORS' ASSOCIATION FOR THE HELP GIVEN TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TRAINING AUTHORITY.
HE PREDICTED THAT WITH THE OPENING OF THE AUTHORITY'S SECOND TRAINING CENTRE IN THE COMING AUTUMN, THERE WOULD BE AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE SUPPLY OF NEWLY TRAINED CRAFTSMEN AND TECHNICIANS.
HE SAID: +TRAINING PROVIDES THE BEST ANSWER TO THE PRESENT SHORTAGE OF TECHNICAL MANPOWER. IN A SITUATION OF OVERALL SHORTAGE, PAYING HIGHER SALARIES BY ITSELF MAY MERELY RESULT IN HIGH STAFF TURNOVERS THUS ADVERSELY AFFECTING EFFICIENCY OF THE INDUSTRY.+
AUR CHANN