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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1982
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS WAS INTERESTED TO LEARN THAT MORE THAN $1.3 BILLION HAD ALREADY BEEN INVESTED IN THE TAI PO INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, ABOUT 70 PER CENT BY LOCAL INDUSTRIALISTS AND 30 PER CENT BY OVERSEAS FIRMS.
THIRTY-FIVE COMPANIES HAVE TAKEN UP SITES AT THE ESTATE, WITH 20 OF THEM ALREADY IN PRODUCTION. THESE COMPANIES, THE DUKE WAS TOLD, COVER A BROAD RANGE OF PRODUCTS AND EMPLOY MODERN, SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGIES.
MR MILLER INFORMED HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THAT FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF THE FIRST STANDARD FACTORY BLOCK IN TAI PO LAST YEAR, TWO ADDITIONAL BLOCKS WERE NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND SHOULD BE READY NEXT YEAR.
THESE STANDARDISED BLOCKS, EACH WITH A TOTAL FLOOR AREA OF 8 758 SQUARE METRES, HAVE BEEN DESIGNED TO SUPPORT HEAVY MACHINERY. EACH BLOCK HAS ITS OWN LOADING AND UNLOADING AREA, A UNIQUE FEATURE FOR FACTORY BUILDINGS IN HONG KONG.
THE DUKE WAS ALSO TOLD THAT THE ESTATE'S CENTRE BUILDING, A COMMERCIAL COMPLEX COMPLETED RECENTLY, WOULD BE IN OPERATION SHORTLY TO SERVE THE INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY AT THE ESTATE.
FOLLOWING THE BRIEFING, THE DUKE VISITED RCL SEMICONDUCTORS LTD, A HIGH-TECHNOLOGY FACTORY AT THE ESTATE PRODUCING A WIDE RANGE OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND OTHER RELATED COMPONENTS FOR THE LOCAL ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY.
DRESSED IN SPECIAL LINT-FREE OVERALLS AND PROTECTIVE SHOE COVERS, HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS WAS SHOWN AROUND THE FACTORY BY THE COMPANY'S CHAIRMAN, MR R.C. LEE.
HE VISITED THE FACTORY'S +WAFER-FABRICATION+ AREA WHERE HE SAW MICROCHIPS BEING FABRICATED AND TOURED THE COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN ROOM WHERE HE WAS SHOWN HOW CIRCUITS ARE DESIGNED.
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