WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 1984
8
+THEY INCLUDE A NUMBER OF AUTOMATIC FUNCTIONS WHICH DETECT MESSAGE ERRORS AND GENERATE SERVICES MESSAGES; RETRIEVE MESSAGES FOR REPETITION; TRANSFER MESSAGES TO TAPES IN THE EVENT OF TRAFFIC OVERFLOW ON A HEAVILY LOADED ROUTE; AND AT A LATER STAGE COMPILE AND DISTRIBUTE OPERATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL (OPMET) BULLETINS AS WELL AS FLIGHT PLANS AND DEPARTURE MESSAGES,+ MR THORPE SAID.
WITH A THROUGHPUT CAPACITY OF 3 600 MESSAGES PER HOUR OR ABOUT 54 000 MESSAGES PER DAY, THE NEW AMDS SHOULD HAVE A PLANNED OPERATIONAL LIFE OF 15 YEARS.
THE AEROFIXED CENTRE IS CURRENTLY HANDLING ABOUT
15 000 MESSAGES A DAY.
PHASE II OF THE INSTALLATION PROGRAMME WHICH ENABLES THE DISPATCHING OF OPMET BULLETINS ON AN AUTOMATIC BASIS WILL BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF THIS YEAR.
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DELEGATES DISCUSS URBAN GROWTH AND NATURE *****
THE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS MUST BE RECONCILED, THE SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS, MR NICKY CHAN, SAID TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
MR CHAN WAS MAKING THE OPENING ADDRESS AT THE THIRD EASTERN REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, ENTITLED URBAN EXPLOSION IN ASIA, AT THE SHERATON HOTEL.
HE SAID HIS STAFF AND HE SHARED THE FEDERATION'S BELIEF THAT RAPID EXPANSION OF POPULATION AND OF BUILT-UP AREAS COULD BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT DEBASING THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT, AND THAT EXPANSION COULD OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY TO BLEND TOGETHER THE WORKS OF NATURE AND MAN TO ENRICH OUR SURROUNDINGS.
+IT IS OFTEN THE CASE, HOWEVER, THAT THE GOOD INTENTIONS OF GOVERNMENTS TO PROVIDE THEIR PEOPLE WITH ADEQUATE LIVING CONDITIONS ARE FRUSTRATED BY THE WELL-INTENTIONED ENVIRONMENTALIST, WHO BELIEVES THAT ANY DEVELOPMENT MUST BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT DISTURBING THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, MR CHAN SAID.
IN MY OPINION, SUCH A VIEWPOINT IS UNREALISTIC AND THE DICHOTOMY BETWEEN THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS MUST BE RECONCILED IF THE PROVERTY AND SQUALOR OF URBAN SLUMS, SHANTY TOWNS AND SQUATTER AREAS SO PREVALENT IN THE CITIES OF MOST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE TO BE ERADICATED WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME-SCALE.
/+I FIRMLY