Monitors' report submitted to CS
The monitors appointed to observe the Orderly Repatriation Programme operation this morning (Tuesday) have submitted their report to the Chief Secretary.
A Government spokesman said the monitors were a Justice of the Peace, Mr Eddie Lee Chung-keung, and Miss Marie Vander Elst from Medecins Sans Frontieres.
End/Tuesday, August 15, 1995
Container growth underlines need for new facilities
Latest official throughput figures underline the growing need for additional container terminal facilities in Hong Kong.
Statistics for the first four months of the year show that the port is maintaining its high throughput growth rate with the biggest increase occurring in river trade.
Issued by the Marine Department, the figures show that up to the end of April, Hong Kong has handled 3.7 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs). This was a 16.5 per cent increase over the same period last year.
The eight terminals at the Kwai Chung Container Port handled 2.45 million TEUs, a rise of 17.5 per cent over the first four months of last year. There was a smaller increase in the number of containers handled mid-stream. The total rose 9.5 per cent to 913,000 TEUs:
TEUs.
By far the biggest increase was in river trade, up 28.5 per cent to total 338,000
The Secretary of the Port Development Board, Mr Tony Clark, said the figures confirmed the Board's projections for the introduction of new facilities.
He said: "The first berth of Container Terminal Nine should ideally be ready by September 1996, but, because of delays in starting construction, that is not possible.
"That makes it all the more imperative to bring the terminals on Lantau Island into operation as soon as possible. It is planned that the first berth of these terminals should come on stream by mid-1998."