THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1993
"A CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE ON LAND-USE PLANNING AND CONTROL RELATING TO POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS INSTALLATIONS HAS BEEN SET UP SINCE 1986 TO OVERSEE THIS SUBJECT AND ASSESS THE DEMAND FOR NEW SITES.
'QUANTITATIVE
ASSESSMENT OF OFF-SITE RISK LEVELS OF BOTH EXISTING AND FUTURE PHI'S IS NOW FULLY INTEGRATED INTO THE GOVERNMENT'S LAND-USE PLANNING AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESS FOR THE SITING OF PHI'S AND THE LAND USE IN THEIR VICINITY,
" HE SAID.
IN ADDITION TO COMPREHENSIVE AND CAREFULLY PLANNING, MR EASON SAID IT WAS ALSO IMPORTANT TO DEVISE AND IMPLEMENT COST-EFFECTIVE RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES, INCLUDING THE REDUCTION OF HAZARDOUS INVENTORIES AND PROVISION OF PLANT SAFETY SYSTEMS.
HE SAID HONG KONG'S EXPERIENCE HAD SHOWN, WITH A DEGREE OF SUCCESS, HOW TO DEVELOP MEASURES TO SUIT ITS CIRCUMSTANCES ON THE ONE HAND, AND TO BALANCE THE REQUIREMENTS OF INDUSTRY AND THE INTERESTS OF THE COMMUNITY ON THE OTHER.
HE SAID GIVEN THE LIMITED SUPPLY OF READILY DEVELOPABLE LAND AND SPECTACULAR CONCENTRATION OF POPULATION IN HONG KONG, CAREFUL AND PROPER LAND-USE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT CONTROL WERE CRUCIAL.
"THE DEVELOPMENT PRESSURES FROM THE COMMUNITY FOR IMPROVED ACCOMMODATION, RECREATION AND A PLEASANT ENVIRONMENT ON THE ONE
HAND, AND THE DEMANDS FOR ALL SORTS OF INFRASTRUCTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENTS WHICH ARE CRITICAL TO THE ECONOMIC GROWTH OF HONG KONG ON THE OTHER, ARE EVER INCREASING.
"THERE ARE OFTEN COMPETING CLAIMS ON THE LIMITED LAND AVAILABLE. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR SPECIAL PROJECTS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATING TO THE GAS INDUSTRY AND OTHER POTENTIAL HAZARDOUS
INSTALLATIONS.
GOVT FULLY BACKS UPGRADING OF INDUSTRIES
THE GOVERNMENT IS COMMITTED ΤΟ UPGRADING HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIES BY PROVIDING MAXIMUM SUPPORT TO DEVELOP THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES FOR MANUFACTURERS, THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF INDUSTRY, MISS DENISE YUE, SAID TONIGHT (THURSDAY).
SPEAKING AT THE DINNER MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CHINESE MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION OF HONG KONG, MISS YUE SAID SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD GRANT AN EXTRA $150 MILLION TO $200 MILLION EACH YEAR FROM NEXT YEAR ONWARDS TO SUPPORT WORTHWHILE INDUSTRIAL PROJECTS.
TO RAISE THE TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL OF HONG KONG'S INDUSTRIES, THE GOVERNMENT HAD AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS YEAR SET UP A $200 MILLION APPLIED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R & D) SCHEME ΤΟ ENCOURAGE MANUFACTURERS TO UNDERTAKE MORE TECHNOLOGY-ORIENTED APPLIED R & D
WORK.
THE GOVERNMENT HOPES THAT BY PROVIDING FUNDING SUPPORT IN THE FORM OF LOAN PROVISION OR EQUITY PARTICIPATION, LOCAL MANUFACTURERS CAN DEVELOP AND HAVE ACCESS TO THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY, THEREBY ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF HONG KONG'S PRODUCTS OVERSEAS, MISS YUE SAID.
/SHE NOTED