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TDD geared up to meet new challenges
The Territory Development Department (TDD) is well prepared to meet new challenges ahead with continuous quest for excellence in providing a better living environment for the people of Hong Kong, the department's director, Mr Lee Shing-see, said today (Tuesday).
Speaking at a meet-the-media session, he also said projects undertaken by his department achieved good progress last year.
Reviewing the work of the TDD in the past year, Mr Lee noted that his department's accomplishment in the new town programme could be seen from the success of the more mature new towns and the continuous expansion of the programme in a fast pace to cope with the increase in population.
At present, over 2.6 million people, representing over 40 per cent of the total population, are living in new towns.
"Our target is to accommodate about 3.6 million people upon full completion of the new town programmc," Mr Lee noted.
Apart from developing new towns, Mr Lee said his department was also given the responsibility to undertake new major developments in the urban areas based on the department's new town experience.
He pointed out that the initial phases of the reclamation in West Kowloon, Central and Wan Chai were taking shape to various extent.
Mr Lee said the West Kowloon Reclamation Project was the largest reclamation in the urban area ever undertaken by the department, involving production of about 340 hectares of new land for various uses.
"By now, over 90 per cent of the reclamation area has been formed and the immediate follow-on works, such as the West Kowloon Expressway, the Airport Railway and the Western Harbour Crossing, are in good progress," he said.