MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1991
"THE CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US ARE BOTH POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC BUT WE ARE WELL USED TO COPING WITH CHANGES," SHE SAID.
"WE HAVE THE SKILLS, THE RESILIENCE AND THE WILL TO SURVIVE AND PROSPER AND WE AIM TO PLAY OUR PART IN THE ECONOMIC DYNAMISM OF THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION, SHE ADDED.
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AFFIRMING THE CRUCIAL IMPORTANCE OF THE AIRPORT TO HONG KONG'S ECONOMY, MRS CHAN SAID A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE TERRITORY'S HIGHER VALUE TRADE IS HANDLED BY AIR.
"FOR EXAMPLE IN 1990, 30 PER CENT OF OUR DOMESTIC EXPORTS, 16 PER CENT OF OUR RE-EXPORTS AND 20 PER CENT OF OUR IMPORTS BY VALUE WERE CARRIED BY AIR.
"OVER 80 PER CENT OF OUR TOURISTS ARRIVE BY AIR. THEY MAKE SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTIONS ΤΟ THE ECONOMY BY THE PURCHASE OF HIGH VALUE-ADDED GOODS AND SERVICES AND DIRECTLY LEAD TO THE CREATION OF MANY JOBS IN HOTELS, RESTAURANTS AND THE RETAIL TRADE.
"IN 1990, WE BENEFITTED FROM TOURISM RECEIPTS TO THE TUNE OF NEARLY HK$39 BILLION, A 6.7 PER CENT INCREASE ON 1989. THE HOTEL SECTOR HAS ALSO INVESTED STRONGLY IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, SHE SAID.
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7,000
"OVER 1,000 HOTEL ROOMS WERE ADDED IN 1990 AND A FURTHER ARE
EXPECTED BY THE END OF 1992 WHEN HONG KONG COULD HAVE AS MANY AS 35,000 HOTEL ROOMS AVAILABLE, MRS CHAN SAID.
IF THE AIRPORT AT KAI TAK IS PERMITTED TO CONTINUE TO OPERATE AT, OR BEYOND, ITS DESIGN CAPACITY FOR A PROTRACTED PERIOD, HONG KONG WILL START TO TURN BUSINESS AWAY, SHE SAID.
"SO IT IS VITAL FOR HONG KONG TO HAVE A NEW AIRPORT TO MAINTAIN OUR COMPETITIVENESS IN THE REGION AND IN THE WORLD, SHE SAID.
"THE NEW AIRPORT AT CHEK LAP KOK CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH. 1ተ WILL OPERATE ROUND-THE-CLOCK WITH TWO RUNWAYS AND AN ULTIMATE DESIGN CAPACITY FOR 87 MILLION PASSENGERS, 4 MILLION TONNES OF CARGO AND 320,000 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS BACH YEAR, SHE NOTED.
SHE POINTED OUT THAT THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU) PROVIDED THE CERTAINTY NEEDED FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO PROCEED CONFIDENTLY WITH THE CORE AIRPORT PROJECTS AS WELL AS PRACTICAL AND SENSIBLE ARRANGEMENTS FOR DEALING WITH ANY AIRPORT-RELATED MATTERS WHICH STRADDLED 1997.
"IT IS ALSO A CLEAR STATEMENT OF CHINESE SUPPORT AND AN UNEQUIVOCAL REASSURANCE TO POTENTIAL INVESTORS THAT OBLIGATIONS ENTERED INTO BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WHICH STRADDLE 1997 WILL BR HONOURED BY THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION GOVERNMENT WHICH WILL COME INTO BEING ON JULY 1, 1997.
"THE MOU REPRESENTS NOT ONLY A MAJOR BREAK-THROUGH IN TAKING FORWARD OUR PLANS FOR INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT BUT IT IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT SYMBOL OF THE COMMITMENT OF HONG KONG'S PRESENT AND FUTURE SOVEREIGN POWERS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF HONG PROSPERITY AND STABILITY, MRS CHAN SAID.
KONG'S
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