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TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1994
SPEAKING ON THE TOPIC: "HONG KONG'S ROLE IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE PEARL RIVER DELTA", THE CHIEF SECRETARY SAID NEITHER GUANGDONG NOR HONG KONG COULD HAVE ACHIEVED WHAT THEY HAD OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS WITHOUT EACH OTHER.
**NOT MANY MATURE ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD HAVE BEEN PRESENTED WITH NEW GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES, RIGHT ON THEIR DOORSTEP, IN THE WAY THAT HONG KONG HAS.
"NOT MANY UNDERDEVELOPED ECONOMIES HAVE BEEN ABLE ΤΟ SECURE MASSIVE OUTSIDE INVESTMENT, MANAGEMENT SKILLS AND THE FULL RANGE OF BUSINESS SERVICES, AT THE VERY MOMENT THEY NEEDED IT, AS GUANGDONG HAS, SHE SAID.
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AS A RESULT, HONG KONG HAS HAD GROWTH RATES OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS AVERAGING OVER SIX PER CENT. AND GUANGDONG HAS AVERAGED OVER 15 PER CENT GROWTH ANNUALLY OVER THE SAME PERIOD, A RECORD THAT DEVELOPING ECONOMIES THE WORLD OVER CAN ONLY ENVY, SHE NOTED.
TO DATE, THERE ARE SOME 20,000 BUSINESS ENTERPRISES GUANGDONG WITH HONG KONG OWNERSHIP. OVER THREE MILLION JOBS CREATED THERE.
"A VITAL ELEMENT IN ALL THIS HAS BEEN THE DEVELOPMENT TRANSPORT LINKS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA," MRS CHAN SAID.
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SHE SAID THE GOVERNMENT WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE OPENING OF LOK MA CHAU CROSSING ROUND-THE-CLOCK IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR.
TOTAL CROSS-BORDER PASSENGER TRAFFIC BETWEEN HONG KONG AND GUANGDONG LAST YEAR PASSED THE 50 MILLION MARK THE BUSIEST BORDER IN THE WORLD. MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE TRAVELLED BY RAIL.
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MRS CHAN ALSO SAID THE GOVERNMENT WAS FORMULATING A RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY WHICH WAS LIKELY TO INCLUDE CONSTRUCTION OF A MAJOR NEW RAIL LINK TO THE BORDER.
"WE
ARE NOW CONSIDERING THE PROVISION OF A NEW PORT RAIL LINE FROM THE BORDER TO THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER PORT," SHE ADDED.
ON WATERBORNE TRAFFIC, THE CHIEF SECRETARY SAID IT WAS VITAL THAT CONTAINER TERMINAL NINE GOT THE GO-AHEAD QUICKLY, IF THE GROWTH OF HONG KONG'S CONTAINER PORT, AND THE CHINESE CONTAINER TRAFFIC THROUGH HONG KONG WAS NOT TO BE ARTIFICIALLY CONSTRAINED.
ON THE NEW AIRPORT, MRS CHAN SAID ONE THIRD OF THE PLATFORM HAD BEEN RECLAIMED FROM THE SEA, TYING UP ONE THIRD WORLD'S DREDGING CAPACITY.
"THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE AIRPORT WILL BE BUILT,
AIRPORT OF THE
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SHE SAID.
MRS CHAN SAID THE GOVERNMENT WANTED то SEE THE AIRPORT COMMITTEE MEET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, TO CONSIDER AND APPROVE ITS LATEST FINANCING PROPOSAL FOR THE AIRPORT.
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