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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1982
ON THE PROPOSAL TO USE SOLAR ENERGY TO TRANSFORM SEA WATER INTO FRESH WATER, MR MCDONALD SAID THAT THE MOST RECENT INFORMATION AVAILABLE FROM WORKS AND STUDIES CARRIED OUT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD IN THE FIELD OF DESALINATION USING SOLAR ENERGY INDICATED THAT IT WAS ONLY FEASIBLE WHERE THE QUANTITIES REQUIRED WERE SMALL, UP TO ABOUT 200 CUBIC METRES PER DAY.
+AS WELL AS REQUIRING A SUNNY CLIMATE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR LARGE AREAS OF LAND ARE REQUIRED TO ACCOMMODATE ENERGY COLLECTORS HE SAID.
+THE LOK ON PAI DESALTER OCCUPIES A SITE OF ABOUT 10 HECTARES AND CAN PRODUCE 180 000 CUBIC METRES OF WATER PER DAY, BUT TO PRODUCE THE SAME AMOUNT BY SOLAR CONVERSION A LAND AREA OF ABOUT 10 000 HECTARES WOULD BE NEEDED. IT CAN THEREFORE BE SEEN THAT FOR LARGE SCALE DESALTING THE USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IS BOTH IMPRACTICABLE AND UNECONOMICAL.+
REGARDING THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL FACILITIES, MR MCDONALD SAID THAT PROPOSALS AIMED AT BRINGING ABOUT SPEEDY EXPANSION OF THE FACILITIES AT KWAI CHUNG TO MEET CURRENT FORESEEABLE PRESSURES WERE ALREADY AT AN ADVANCED STAGE OF DISCUSSION WITH PRIVATE INTERESTS. LONGER TERM PORT REQUIREMENTS WERE BEING CONSIDERED IN THE WIDER CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES.
IN A GENERAL SENSE, MR MCDONALD SAID, HE AGREED WITH MR CHAN THAT +WHILE WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE CURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES AT THIS STAGE, WE MUST STUDY FUTURE NEEDS AND LAY THE PLANNING FOUNDATION TO MEET THEM+.
THE BROAD AIMS OF THE STUDIES WHICH ARE ALREADY WELL UNDERWAY AS MENTIONED BY THE GOVERNOR IN HIS ADDRESS WERE TO IDENTIFY DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE AND TO RECONCILE COMPETING AND INTER-RELATED DEMANDS IN THE FORMULATION OF A DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY WHICH WOULD PRODUCE THE BEST ENVIRONMENT POSSIBLE WITHIN THE LIMITS OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES.
+THE COMPLEX TASK OF CO-ORDINATING THESE EFFORTS BEGAN IN 1980 WITH THE SETTING UP OF A SMALL TECHNICAL UNIT IN THE GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT ESPECIALLY FOR THE PURPOSE, BY MID-1983 SUB-REGIONAL STUDIES AIMED AT IDENTIFYING URBAN GROWTH POTENTIAL WILL HAVE BEEN COMPLETED FOR THE NORTH-WEST NEW TERRITORIES, NORTH-EAST NEW TERRITORIES, JUNK BAY, SAI KUNG, NORTH-EAST LANTAU AND THE HARBOUR AREA, MR MCDONALD SAID.
BY THAT TIME RESULTS OF OTHER MORE PARTICULAR STUDIES RELATING TO SUCH MATTERS AS POPULATION AND EMPLOYMENT, LAND REQUIREMENTS FOR HOUSING, INDUSTRY AND OTHER PURPOSES, MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURAL ITEMS INCLUDING THE AIRPORT, CONTAINER PORT, INTERNAL TRANSPORT AND SO ON WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE.
+FULL ASSESSMENT OF THE LONG-TERM OPTIONS, USING COMPUTER TECHNIQUES TO COMPARE LAND AND TRANSPORT COSTS AND REVENUES, WILL THEN BE POSSIBLE. BY THE END OF 1983 WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO FORMULATE A LONG-TERM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR THE TERRITORY EXTENDING UP TO AND BEYOND THE END OF THE CENTURY, MR MCDONALD SAID.
/REPLYING TO...................
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