6.
Wednesday, June 7, 1972
"The short answers to my honourable Friend's questions are:
(1) yes,
a decision has been taken; and (2) it is that the construction of the full
Mass Transit Railway will be proceeded with subject to satisfactory arrangements
being made for financing it and for letting contracts. But these are short
answers, Sir, to two deceptively simple questions and I think I should explain
in some detail before my honourable Friend asks me to do eo -
they mean.
-
-
precisely what
"First of all the Government has decided, after the most careful
consideration that, if the demand for movement in Hong Kong in the late
seventies and thereafter is to be satisfied, the surface public transport
system must be augmented, if at all possible, by an underground mass transit
railway. The alternative would seem to be an unacceptable degree of congestion
But, of the road network unacceptable in both economic and social terms.
as I stressed in both the Budget Speech and in my speech winding up the budget
debate, the addition of a mass transit railway must be coupled with the
expansion and improvement of the road network, with a programme designed to
increase the carrying capacity, efficiency and comfort of surface public
transport facilities and with policies designed to optimise the use of available
road space.
This is because a mass transit railway cannot, on its own,
constitute a solution to our emerging transport problem; and, in particular,
it will not mean that our road network can be left free for unlimited use by
personalised forms of transport. This will be so even when the road network
has been fully dveloped in accordance with the Long Term Road Study. Present
plans provide for expenditure on road reconstruction and development of $1,800
million spread over the eight years ending 1979/80 and, undoubtedly, this amount
/will
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