CO129-578-5 Development of Whampoa Port 13-12-1938 - 11-5-1939 — Page 50

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public improvements has been under way. These studies lead to the conclusion that Greater Canton (including Whampoa) will have a population of 2,000,000 or more within the next twenty five years or so. Of this total it is to be expected that Whampoa will eventually aggregate 750,000. This figure is independently checked as follows: One man will eventually be employed for each foot of water frontage. From other con- siderations (which will be explained in a few moments) this frontage is fixed at 70,000 feet as an eventual probable maximum. 70,000 water front workers will correspond with 350,000 as

a total for them and their families. It always requires an equal population to serve such primary workers. This means 700,000. Some of these people will live outside of Whampoa. On the other hand there will be others (probably less in number) who will live in Whampoa and travel to Canton for business daily. Furthermore there will be several thousand employed in the large manufacturing plants. This will probably aggregate 10,000. The families of these workers and of those

who serve them will then aggregate 100,000 persons.

The grand

total is thus seen may approach 800,000, a figure which checks

satisfactorily the one mentioned a few moments ago.

The Port is expected to grow to handle eventually about one half as much ship tonnage as Shanghai or Hong Kong, in other words to have 17,500,000 net tons of vessel entrances

and clearances. This figure applies to the total tonnage of

Greater Canton. Of this quantity it is expected that 7,500,000

tons will be handled at Canton City in the inner harbour and about 10,000,000 tons at Whampoa. The total is nearly six times the average annual total net @anton tonnage of entrances and clearances of ocean and coast vessels for the past eight years (1929 to 1936 inclusive), according to the report of the Maritime Department of the Chinese Maritime Customs. actual tonnage has fluctuated between a low of 2,623,954 in

1933 and a high of 3,420,400 in 1936. The average for the

eight year period was 3,038,801. During that interval the average increase was nearly 67,000 tons each year.

The

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