THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1985
ANOTHER 175 000 PUBLIC HOUSING FLATS TO BE BUILT
**
SUFFICIENT CONTRACTS ARE NOW BEING LET BY THE HOUSING
AUTHORITY TO ENSURE THAT ANOTHER 175 000 PUBLIC HOUSING UNITS WILL BE BUILT OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.
THE ACTING SECRETARY FOR HOUSING, MR FRED PANG YUK-LING, SAID THIS TODAY WHEN OFFICIATING AT THE FIRST GRADUATION CEREMONY OF THE CONSTRUCTION SAFETY OFFICERS COURSE.
MR PANG SAID THE PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAMME, WHICH WAS INCREASINGLY PLACING A GREATER EMPHASIS ON QUALITY AND DURABILITY AS WELL AS QUANTITY, HAD FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS REACHED THE TARGET OF PRODUCING A MINIMUM OF 35 000 FLATS ANNUALLY.
+THEREFORE, AN AGGREGATE OF MORE THAN 350 000 FLATS WILL HAVE BEEN BUILT IN THIS DECADE.
+TO ACHIEVE THIS, THE HOUSING AUTHORITY HAS, AT ANY GIVEN TIME, SOME 110 000 FLATS ON ABOUT 70 SITES UNDER CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYING APPROXIMATELY 12 000 WORKERS.+
MR PANG SAID THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY WAS INHERENTLY A HIGH RISK ACTIVITY WITH A VERY HIGH NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS EACH YEAR WHICH WERE OFTEN CAUSED BY HAZARDOUS WORKING CONDITIONS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES.
+ INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT STATISTICS OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS SHOW THAT THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HAD FIVE TIMES MORE ACCIDENTS THAN OTHER INDUSTRIES.
+AND IT WAS AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND THAT THE DECISION WAS TAKEN TO MAKE COMPULSORY THE EMPLOYMENT OF SAFETY OFFICERS WITHIN THE BUILDING INDUSTRY.+
HE DESCRIBED THE DECISION AS BOTH NECESSARY AND TIMELY AND PAID TRIBUTE TO THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TRAINING AUTHORITY, THE BUILDING CONTRACTORS' ASSOCIATION AND THE LABOUR DEPARTMENT FOR THEIR EFFICIENT RESPONSE IN JOINTLY ORGANISING AN APPROPRIATE TRAINING COURSE.
+ PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED SAFETY OFFICERS FROM THIS COURSE WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE IN MEETING THE URGENT NEED TO IMPROVE AND STRENGTHEN SITE AWARENESS AND EDUCATION.
+ AND IN SO DOING, THEIR PROFESSIONAL SKILLS WILL BE APPLIED TO ALLEVIATING THIS SOMEWHAT INTRACTABLE PROBLEM.+
+WITH AN ANNUAL INTAKE OF 80 STUDENTS, THE CONSTRUCTION SAFETY COURSE WILL MAKE A VERY SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION TO MEETING THE SAFETY REQUIREMENTS OF THE INDUSTRY WHEN THE NEW LEGISLATION COMES INTO EFFECT IN FUTURE, MR PANG ADDED.
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