XN000022-1976-02-22 — Page 3

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1976

HONG KONG AT REGIONAL TALKS ON TRANSPORT

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HONG KONG WAS REPRESENTED AT A TWO-PART REGIONAL SEMINAR ON TRANSPORT HELD RECENTLY IN JAKARTA AND SINGAPORE.

THE SEMINAR WAS ORGANISED BY THE UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP) AND WAS ATTENDED BY 40 PARTICIPANTS FROM 12 SOUTHEAST ASIAN COUNTRIES.

THE PARTICIPANTS WERE MAINLY TRAFFIC ENGINEERS AND TRANSPORT PLANNING OFFICERS AND THE SUBJECT OF THE SEMINAR WAS THEIR ROLE IN CITY ADMINISTRATION.

THERE WERE SPEAKERS FROM GERMANY, THE UNITED STATES, JAPAN, PHILIPPINES, AND THE HOST COUNTRIES INDONESIA AND SINGAPORE. OTHER COUNTRIES REPRESENTED AT THE SEMINAR INCLUDED IRAN, INDIA, NEW ZEALAND, SRI LANKA, THAILAND, MALAYSIA, BANGLADESH AND PAKISTAN.

THE HONG KONG DELEGATE, TRANSPORT OFFICER MISS DOROTHY YUEN, RETURNED FROM SINGAPORE LAST WEEKEND. SHE DESCRIBED IT AS A SEMINAR- CUM-TRAINING COURSE ORGANISED ON THE LINES OF A +WORKSHOP+,

+ITS AIM WAS TO BUILD A FORUM TO DISCUSS THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF TOWN PLANNING, TRAFFIC PLANNING, TRAFFIC STEERING AND CONTROL, SHE SAID.

MISS YUEN SAID THAT THE EMPHASIS WAS NOT SO MUCH ON TOWN AND TRAFFIC PLANNING BUT RATHER ON THE INFLUENCES OF THE AUTHORITIES DEALING WITH EXISTING URBAN TRAFFIC SYSTEMS.

+BESIDES THE DISCUSSIONS WHICH WERE OPEN TO THE FLOOR,+ MISS YUEN SAID, +EACH DELEGATE PRESENTED A COUNTRY PAPER' DESCRIBING THE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS OF BOTH THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR, AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF THE TRANSPORT AUTHORITIES IN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES.+

ASKED WHAT WAS THE DELEGATES' REACTION TO HONG KONG'S TRANSPORT PAPER, MISS YUEN SAID, +ALL WERE IMPRESSED BY THE VARIETY OF TRANSPORT AVAILABLE TO OUR CITY OF 4.4 MILLION.+

HONG KONG'S METRO BECAME A BIG TALKING POINT AT THE DISCUSSIONS, +SINGAPORE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTED, SHE SAID, AS THEY ARE ACTIVELY STUDYING SUCH A SYSTEM.+

+ON IMMEDIATE TRANSPORT PROBLEMS, THE INDONESIAN AND MALAYSIAN DELEGATES WERE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN OUR MINIBUSES,+ MISS YUEN ADDED. +OTHER MEMBERS WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ROLE OF OUR TRANSPORT ADVISORY COMMITTEE WHICH INCLUDES UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS REPRESENTING THE COMMUNITY AND PRIVATE SECTOR, AND ADVISES THE GOVERNMENT ON ALL MAJOR TRANSPORT POLICY MATTERS.+

/DURING THE