FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1983
5.
MR CHAN SAID THE MAIN URBAN AREAS AND HARBOUR HAD BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT TO STUDY. BUT THE CONCLUSIONS WERE THAT, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE POTENTIAL FOR REDEVELOPMENT THAT REMAINED AND THE SCOPE FOR FORMING NEW LAND BY RECLAMATION AND TERRACING, ABOUT 4.55 MILLION PEOPLE COULD BE ADEQUATELY HOUSED IN THE AREA, COMPARED TO A CURRENT FIGURE OF ROUGHLY 3.6 MILLION, WHICH INCLUDED THE INADEQUATELY HOUSED. THIS ESTIMATE TOOK ACCOUNT OF LIMITATIONS IMPOSED BY THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE TRANSPORT SYSTEM COULD BE IMPROVED AND EXPANDED.
ASSUMING KAI TAK AIRPORT REMAINED IN OPERATION, THE PRINCIPAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE ON LARGE SCALE RECLAMATIONS OFF WEST KOWLOON, HUNG HOM BAY, CENTRAL AND KENNEDY TOWN. BUT IF THE AIRPORT WERE RELOCATED. AND THE LAND THERE COULD BE RE-USED A SMALLER WEST KOWLOON RECLAMATION WOULD SUFFICE. IN BOTH CASES, EXTENSION OF THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER PORT WOULD BE NEEDED AND IT MIGHT BE CONNECTED BY RAIL VIA A TUNNEL TO SHA TIN TO LINK UP WITH THE KCR.
A WEST HARBOUR ROAD CROSSING AND EXTENSIONS TO THE MTR WOULD ALSO BE NEEDED.
IN THE LATE 1970'S, MR CHAN CONTINUED, IT WAS RECOGNISED, FROM AN AIRPORT OPERATIONAL POINT OF VIEW, THAT CHEK LAP KOK ON NORTH LANTAU OFFERED A SUITABLE LOCATION FOR A NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WITH ASSOCIATED URBAN DEVELOPMENT FOR ABOUT 200 000 PEOPLE AT TUNG CHUNG. THERE WOULD ALSO BE FURTHER CAPACITY FOR ABOUT 500 000 PEOPLE. HOWEVER, NO COMMITMENT TO A NEW AIRPORT EXISTED AT PRESENT, ALTHOUGH THE OPTION REMAINED OPEN FOR THE FUTURE.
THE DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL OF NORTH LANTAU WITHOUT AN AIRPORT HAD ALSO BEEN EXAMINED AND THE STUDIES INDICATED THAT REASONABLE SCOPE EXISTED, LARGELY ON RECLAMATION BETWEEN PENG CHAU AND HEI LING CHAU. DEVELOPMENT THERE FOR UP TO 700 000 PEOPLE MIGHT ALSO BE LINKED EASTWARDS BY SUBMERGED ROAD AND RAIL CONNECTIONS ACROSS THE LAMMA CHANNEL TO KENNEDY TOWN AND WESTWARDS THROUGH TO MUI WO AND POSSIBLY CHEK LAP KOK. THE EASTERN TRANSPORT LINKS MIGHT BE BUILT IN CONJUNCTION WITH A BREAKWATER BETWEEN KAU YI CHAU AND PENG CHAU WHICH COULD PROVIDE SHELTERED WATER TO THE NORTH INTO WHICH PORT FACILITIES MIGHT BE EXPANDED.
MR CHAN SAID, PLANS WERE WELL ADVANCED FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TOWN AT JUNK BAY WHICH COULD ULTIMATELY ACCOMMODATE ABOUT 330 000 PEOPLE.
EXTENSIVE FORMATION WORKS WERE ALREADY PROCEEDING FOR INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA TO ACCOMMODATE ABOUT 175 000 PEOPLE, LINKED BY A NEW ROAD TUNNEL TO KWUN TONG. TO GO FURTHER WOULD REQUIRE AN EXTENSION OF THE MTR AT CONSIDERABLE COST.
+AS YOY CAN SEE,+ HE SAID, FAR FROM BEING SHORT OF IDEAS AS TO HOW TO DEAL WITH THE POTENTIAL DEMANDS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1990'S WHICH WILL BE GENERATED BY A POPULATION QUANTUM OF ABOUT 800 000 PEOPLE, WE HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE BETWEEN A QUITE CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF OPTIONS, WHICH PRODUCE A TOTAL THEORETICAL CAPACITY OF ABOUT THREE MILLION PEOPLE.
+OUR PROBLEM LIES, THEREFORE, IN MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICE.
+ IT IS INTO THIS DECISIVE PHASE OF OUR STUDY PROCESS THAT WE ARE NOW MOVING.+
/IN DUTIES