FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1991
FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR HK TRANSPORT POLICY
THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, MR MICHAEL LEUNG SAID TODAY (FRIDAY) THAT A FREIGHT LINE CONNECTING THE CONTAINER PORT WITH CHINA CAN RANK HIGH IN THE LIST OF PRIORITIES FOR NEW RAILWAY CONNECTIONS IN THE FUTURE.
MR LEUNG SAID CONSIDERATION WOULD ALSO BE GIVEN TO THE NEED FOR A RAIL LINK BETWEEN THE NORTHWEST NEW TERRITORIES AND THE URBAN AREA.
SPEAKING AT A DINNER MEETING OF THE LIONS CLUB OF HONG KONG, MR LEUNG SAID THAT A RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY STUDY WAS ABOUT TO BE LAUNCHED AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR.
"DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE INVESTED SOME $15 BILLIONS IN OUR ROADS, AND NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE SPENDING SOME $4.5 BILLIONS ON NEW ROADS, COMPARED WITH $3 BILLIONS THIS YEAR.
"HOWEVER, THIS IS UNLIKELY TO SATISFY DEMAND OR REDUCE CONGESTION, EXCEPT FOR A SHORT WHILE.
"AN ON-GOING PROGRAMME OF MAJOR INVESTMENT IS NECESSARY IF WE ARE TO PREVENT HONG KONG FROM BEING COMPLETELY BLOCKED BY TRAFFIC JAMS DURING THE PEAK HOURS.
"THUS OUR FIRST PRIORITY MUST BE TO CONTINUE TO SEEK ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES TO DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE ROAD NETWORK TO MEET RISING DEMAND, AND TO EXPLORE OTHER MEANS OF REDUCING ROAD CONGESTION," HE SAID.
MR LEUNG SAID TRANSPORT LINKS WERE ESSENTIAL THE GROWTH IN ECONOMIC TIES BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA.
TO FACILITATE
IT WAS FORECAST THAT CROSS BORDER PASSENGER AND VEHICULAR TRAFFIC WOULD CONTINUE TO INCREASE AT A RATE OF SIX PER CENT AND 14 PER CENT PER ANNUM RESPECTIVELY.
MR LEUNG SAID INTERNALLY, HONG KONG'S VEHICULAR ALSO INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY.
TRAFFIC HAD
THE TOTAL NUMBER OF LICENSED VEHICLES AT PRESENT WAS 377,000 AND WAS FORECAST TO RISE TO 470,000 BY 1996 AND TO 750,000 BY 2011.
THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT SAID THE DEMAND FOR MORE ROAD SPACE WAS PUTTING A GREAT STRAIN ON THE ROAD NETWORK.
NO MATTER HOW FAST THE GOVERNMENT BUILT AND HOW MUCH WAS INVESTED, NEW ROADS WERE SOON TAKEN UP BY VEHICLES AS SUPPRESSED DEMAND WAS RELEASED.
THEREFORE, HE STRESSED THAT WHILE DEVELOPING THE ROAD NETWORKS TO MEET RISING DEMAND, THERE WAS ALSO A NEED TO EXPLORE OTHER MEANS OF REDUCING ROAD CONGESTION, FOR EXAMPLE BY DEVELOPING NEW LINES.
RAILWAY
/WHEN THE
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