XN000022-1974-10-16 — Page 94

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Wednesday, October 16, 1974

However we have now been through all this, we have

taken stock and we know much better where we stand and where

we are able to go and how fast, and where we might draw

back if our resources fall short or accelerate if they

unexpectedly expand. It will be for the Financial Secretary

to spell out the figures next February, in the light of all

the circumstances as they have developed.

But Hon.

Members will have realised even from the broad

terms in which I have spoken to-day, how much we believe

is within our resources as now assessed.

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Carefully conceived plans for housing, secondary

and tertiary education, medical and health services, and

social welfare are all going forward. So too will the

negotiations for the contract for a Mass Transit Railway.

We are able to proceed with the urban road programme, and with

linking the New Towns with the urban areas by the Tuen Mun

motor road to the West, and the twin Lion Rock tunnels and the

double tracking of the Kowloon-Canton Railway to the East.

We expect to start on the construction of new industrial

estates. The private sector too will be embarking on some

dramatic projects such as the new berths for the Kwai Chung

container terminal and the Kai Tak cargo terminal and of

course many others too numerous to mention.

While parts of this address may have struck a note

of uncharacteristic caution, I am greatly encouraged by the

fact that this whole process of careful and detailed stock-taking,

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