XN000022-1972-11-05 — Page 3

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Sunday, November 5, 1972

Commenting on the progress of the work, Mr. Robertson said no

difficulty has so far been encountered as the ground condition is quite

satisfactory.

The progress of the work, he added, has been as good as hoped.

The Resident Engineer in charge of the construction of the Western

Tunnel, Mr. Auyeung Young, of the Public Works Department, said that apart

from the slight delay in the building of access roads due to the rain in May

and June, the work, as a whole, has been proceeding very smoothly.

He said: The two sections of the main tunnel will meet towards the

end of next year and the whole project should be completed by October 1975

as planned."

When the tunnel system is operative, water will be collected by branch

tunnels from stream intakes and led into the main tunnels and then into High

Island Reservoir.

Water from Plover Cove Reservoir can also be led, through its connecting

system with the Lower Shing Mun Reservoir, into the High Island Reservoir,

which will be able to hold 60,000 million gallons of fresh water.

On completion, the $1,300 million water scheme will double Hong Kong's

existing water storage capacity.

If everything goes according to plan, the High Island Reservoir will

start to impound water in the wet season of 1976 and contribute to Hong Kong's

water needs in the winter of 1976/77.

Release Time: 3.00 p.m.