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restaurants, a library, welfare premises, children's play spaces, banks,

cooked food stalls and car parks. In particular, they designed this magni-

ficent Commercial Centre which is being officially opened today. Within its

air-conditioned interior are 90 shops, 3 banks, 2 large restaurants, a super-

market, a department store, a cafe and the Estate Office. The Centre will not

only meet the needs of residents of Oi Man, but it will also act as a district

:

shopping centre for the Ho Man Tin area, an example of the way in which com-

prehensive planning can satisfy both local needs and wider community requirements.

Many have contributed to Oi Man Estate, a splendid achievement, which

has been so warmly admired by the many visitors, including Her Majesty the

Queen, who have come to see it. Among those who deserve recognition for their

part in its success are the previous Housing Authority, which in 1969 settled

the basic design, which has been developed in detail by the new Authority and

its officers. Much credit must be given to the architects and engineers of

the Housing Department, to the Contractors, to the Public Works Department

and to the public utility companies. Everyone who has been concerned with

Oi Man will, I am sure, share our pleasure at its completion, which is marked

by the opening of this Commercial Centre.

Oi Man is a great improvement on its predecessors, providing a

standard of comfort and spaciousness far beyond that of the simple blocks of

fifteen years ago. I have no doubt that its standarde will, in time, be super-

seded by higher ones, for it is the Government's objective to continue to

improve public housing to the limits of our resources.

For the average man, life centres around his home. It is here that

he finds the support and affection which transform a bare existence into a

richer life; therefore, for the fulfillment of these basic and unchanging

needs, he craves a decent place in which to live. I can assure you that the

Government recognises this and will continue to pursue with determination and

enthusiasm its ultimate ain which is to provide for all our inhabitants who

/need it,