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Governor visits Customs Airport Command
The Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, this (Wednesday) afternoon visited the Customs Airport Command to see for himself the Customs anti-narcotics functions at the airport.
This is the eighth in a series of visits by the Governor to agencies/government departments contributing to the reduction of drug abuse following the holding of his anti-drugs summit in March last year.
Accompanied by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise, Mr Don Watson, Assistant Commissioner (Operations), Mr David Tong, and the Commissioner for Narcotics, Mr Raymond Wong, the Governor toured the Customs Hall, baggage reclaim carousel area, unclaimed baggage store, x-ray room and search room.
The Governor was briefed on anti-narcotics functions by Senior Superintendent (Customs Drug Investigation) Chow Kwong and saw a video show on the Customs drug interdiction efforts on air cargoes.
Last year, Customs officers seized about 39 kilograms of drugs which included heroin, herbal cannabis, cannabis resin and methylamphetamine at the airport.
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Hong Kong's port prepares for further growth
The rapid development of southern China will generate a huge demand for port facilities in Hong Kong in the next 20 years. To handle the demand, Hong Kong will need to substantially expand its container terminal facilities.
This was the main theme in a paper delivered by the Secretary of Hong Kong's Port Development Board, Mr Tony Clark, at the Singaport '96 conference in Singapore today (Wednesday).
Mr Clark told delegates: "Our consultants' Port Cargo Forecasts suggest that in the next 10 years the demand in Hong Kong's port, already 12.6 million TEUS last year, will grow two and half times to 31 million TEUs a year.
"What that means is that by the year 2006, the demand on Hong Kong's port will be to handle one 20-foot container every second, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.