XN000022-1973-02-28 — Page 38

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Wednesday, February 28, 1973

GOVERNMENT TEN-YEAR HOUSING PLAN

Expected To Cost Over $8,000 Million

The Financial Secretary, the Hon.. C.P. Haddon-Cave, said today that

expenditure on public housing in 1973-74 was estimated to increase to 6.7 per cent

of the total.

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This compares with 5.8 per cent in 1972-73, which on the face of it

appears to be assuming a less important place in expenditure when compared

with 11.5 per cent in 1962-63.

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In his budget speech, Mr. Haddon-Cave explained that "this is because

the Housing Authority had used income from rents from its estates to finance

capital works without such expenditure passing through the Colony accounts."

"And if we add back the expenditure of the Housing Authority on capital

works financed from its own sources, total capital expenditure on housing

was $139 million in 1962-63, is likely to be $258 million in 1972-73 and is

estimated to be $350 million in 1973-74," he said.

The Financial Secretary referred to the Governor's speech at the

opening of the current session of the Legislative Council.

Sir Murray said then that the total requirement for public housing,

in addition to the contribution of the private sector, would involve housing

a further 1.8 million people over the next 10 years.

"This requirement," Mr. Haddon-Cave said, "has now been approved as

a basis for planning and development."

He estimated that the capital cost of housing this number of people

at $8,500 million at today's prices.

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