WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1983
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$4 MILLION SPENT ON ISLANDS' ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS
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ABOUT $4.05 MILLION WERE SPENT ON MORE THAN 300 LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IN THE ISLANDS DISTRICT LAST YEAR, THE DISTRICT OFFICER, MR WILLIAM YAP, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
THESE PROJECTS RANGED FROM PROVISION OF FOOTBALL PITCHES. CONSTRUCTION OF FOOTPATH NETWORKS TO MINOR MAINTENANCE WORKS ON EXISTING FACILITIES.
EXAMPLES WERE THE IMPROVEMENT TO THE DRAINAGE SYSTEM IN PUI 0, IMPROVEMENT TO ACCESS ROADS IN TUNG CHUNG AND MUT WO, AND CONSTRUCTION OF SITTING-OUT AREAS IN CHEUNG CHAU AND PENG CHAU.
MR YAP WAS SPEAKING ON ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT AND LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS IN THE ISLANDS DISTRICT AT THE LUNCHEON MEETING OF THE LIONESS CLUB OF BRAEMAR HILL.
OF THE $4.05 MILLION, $1.25 MILLION CAME FROM THE LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS VOTE, $1 MILLION FROM THE DISTRICT BOARD AND $1.8 MILLION FROM LOCAL CHARITABLE FUNDS AND PRIVATE DONATIONS.
HE SAID BOTH THE LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS AND DISTRICT BOARD FUNDS WERE INTENDED TO BE USED FOR MINOR WORKS TO IMPROVE THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT OF VILLAGERS.
+PERHAPS THE DISTINCTION IS THAT THE EMPHASIS OF LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS IS PLACED ON THE PROVISION OF BASIC FACILITIES, WHEREAS THE MINOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS UNDERTAKEN BY DISTRICT BOARD ARE ONE STEP BEYOND THE BASICS, HE SAID.
ON THE LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS SCHEME WHICH WAS INTRODUCED IN 1919, MR YAP SAID IT HAS PROVED TO BE ONE OF GOVERNMENT'S MOST VALUABLE MEASURES TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY FACILITIES IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.
HE SAID THE SCHEME NOT ONLY IMPROVED THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT, BUT ALSO ENABLED EMERGENCY REPAIR WORKS TO BE CARRIED OUT IN RESPECT OF INSECURE STRUCTURES.
+EVEN THE MOST REMOTE AREAS IN THE ISLANDS DISTRICT DERIVE BENEFIT FROM THE SCHEME,+ MR YAP SAID.
HE CITED AN EXAMPLE WHICH TOOK PLACE IN 1960 WHEN RESIDENTS OF THE REMOTE SOKO ISLANDS STARTED TO BUILD A BREAKWATER TO AFFORD PROTECTION TO FISHING BOATS AROUND THE ISLANDS.
THE COST OF MATERIALS WAS MET FROM LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS VOTE, AN OUTLAY WHICH WAS PROVED FULLY JUSTIFIED IN PROTECTING THE BOATS AGAINST DAMAGE WHEN TYPHOON ALICE HIT HONG KONG IN 1961, HE SAID.
MR YAP SAID ABOUT $1.8 MILLION HAD BEEN ALLOCATED TO THE DISTRICT FROM THE LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS VOTE THIS FINANCIAL YEAR AND HE BELIEVED A SIMILAR AMOUNT OF $1 MILLION WOULD COME FROM THE DISTRICT BOARD.
/+THERE HAS