XN000022-1973-10-15 — Page 3

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Monday, October 15, 1973

HIGH-SPEED METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION

Employed In Government Housing Projects

Thanks to the effectiveness of new high-speed methods of construction,

work on providing public housing at Tung Tau Tsuen Estate for 3,370 people

is entering its final four-month phase ahead of schedule.

The project is the building of a new block of flats in Area D of

the housing estate. The contract was awarded last November on the basis of

a reduced contract period, cut by six months from 21 months to 15 months,

which was offered by the successful tenderer and accepted by the Government.

This reduction was made possible by a combination of sophisticated

quick-build methods, never fully employed in Hong Kong previously. The

techniques include the use of pre-cast ceiling-and-floor bases and of steel

shuttering to form the walls.

The contract has now progressed to a stage where this system has

demonstrated a vast improvement over conventional construction methods both

in timing and in quality, a spokesman for the Architectural Office of Public

Works Department said today. "It has not only proved its tremendous speed,

but has also produced a much better standard of finish."

The block, which consists of eight floors of housing above two

storeys of shops, should be completed next February at a cost of about

$6.4 million.

/Note