CO129-589-11 Port of Hong Kong- Report on future control and development 18-7-1941 - 10-10-1944 — Page 130

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terms with the intimation that when a new pier was ready for

them they could rent it at a certain rental. Such rental would

be based on a sum representing a small interest on the capital

cost of the individual pier, plus the estimated cost of

maintenance and a percentage on capital cost to cover

depreciation. The total rent which the occupier would be called

upon to pay therefore, should not put him in a worse financial

position than he would be in if be built the pier himself.

any pier lessee wished to re-build his own pier on the lines

shown on the plan I cannot see that there could be any objection,

in which case he would be called upon to pay a similar amount of

rent to that charged to the others who built their own piers. (90) I imagine that this scheme, if adopted, would be

carried out in stages, so that the whole would take a number of

years to complete. As the reclamation for the widening of the

road would be for the benefit of the town, I assume the

Government would defray the cost of that part of the scheme, but

the Harbour Trust would pay the cost of the piers and then fix

an appropriate rent for them as stated above. Of course

Government would be responsible for the cost of any piers

required for its own use.

(91) If the scheme is carried out then the Harbour Trust

would control many new piers, but under the line of policy

adumbrated, the tenants of the piers would still do the

"operating" and not the Trust.

(92) So far as piers on the Kowloon side of the Harbour are

concerned, they, as already stated, are in a satisfactory

condition, and extensive enough to accommodate the volume of

trade now using the Port. If, however, we can assume that the

European War and the China-Japan War will come to a satisfactory

end some time, there does not seem to be much doubt that the

trade of Hong Kong will increase. Then the matter of further

accommodation will arise sooner or later, and the question as to

where new piers are to be constructed will become a pressing one.

Messrs. Coode, Fitzmaurice, Wilson & Mitchell in their Report of

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