WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1991
36
$15 BILLION SPENT ON HK ROAD SYSTEM
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THE GOVERNMENT HAS SPENT $15 BILLION ON THE ROAD SYSTEM IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, REPRESENTING AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 20 PER CENT OF TOTAL PUBLIC WORKS EXPENDITURE, THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, MR MICHAEL LEUNG, TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
SPEAKING IN THE RESUMED DEBATE ON THE GOVERNOR'S POLICY ADDRESS, MR LEUNG SAID OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, THE GOVERNMENT HAD BUILT THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY, ELECTRIFIED AND MODERNISED THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY, BUILT SIX TUNNELS, INTRODUCED A MODERN LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM, AND ADDED OVER 300 KILOMETRES OF ROADS THROUGHOUT THE TERRITORY.
HE SAID HONG KONG HAD THE HIGHEST KILOMETRE IN THE WORLD.
DENSITY OF CARS PER
"THE TOTAL NUMBER OF VEHICLES NOW STANDS AT 377,000, AN INCREASE OF 30 PER CENT OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS AND IS LIKELY ΤΟ GROW TO 470,000 BY 1996 AND TO 750,000 BY 2011.
"DESPITE THE HIGH DENSITY OF VEHICLES, WE MANAGE ΤΟ MAINTAIN AN AVERAGE TRAFFIC SPEED OF ABOUT 24 KILOMETRES PER HOUR IN THE URBAN AREA. THIS IS COMPARABLE TO MOST MAJOR CITIES," HE SAID.
MR LEUNG SAID AS A MATTER OF PRIORITY, THE GOVERNMENT WAS LOOKING INTO THE TIMING TO BUILD THE COUNTRY PARK SECTION OF ROUTE 3 TO RELIEVE TUEN MUN ROAD AND TO PROVIDE A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN THE NORTHWEST NEW TERRITORIES AND THE URBAN AREA.
"THIS PROJECT MIGHT BE PRIVATISED, AND A STUDY IS UNDER WAY TO CONSIDER HOW BEST TO TAKE IT FURTHER."
HE SAID SEVERAL MAJOR PROJECTS WERE IN HAND то BRING SOME RELIEF TO THE NORTHWEST NEW TERRITORIES. THESE INCLUDED THE COMPLETION OF FURTHER SECTIONS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES CIRCULAR ROAD NEXT YEAR, OPENING OF THE NEW YUEN LONG/TUEN MUN EASTERN CORRIDOR IN 1993, WORK ON THE YUEN LONG SOUTHERN BYPASS TO START NEXT YEAR AND PLANS TO IMPROVE SECTIONS OF CASTLE PEAK ROAD.
ON RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT, MR LEUNG SAID THE NEW AIRPORT RAILWAY WOULD NOT ONLY SERVE CHEK LAP KOK BUT WOULD ALSO PROVIDE RELIEF FOR THE OVERCROWDED MTR NATHAN ROAD CORRIDOR.
OTHER RAILWAY DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDED A PROPOSED RAIL LINK FROM TSUEN WAN TO THE NORTHWEST NEW TERRITORIES AND A POSSIBLE FREIGHT LINE FROM THE CONTAINER PORT TO THE BORDER. THEIR PRIORITIES WOULD BE FYAMINED IN THE RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT STUDY TO BE COMPLETED NEXT YEAR.
MR LEUNG SAID HONG KONG WAS PROUD ΤΟ HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES AT DIFFERENT DEGREES OF SPEED, COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE, AND PROVIDED AT REASONABLE FARES WITHOUT GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY.
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