XN000022-1976-05-24 — Page 7

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TWO MAJOR HOUSING ESTATES

MONDAY, MAY 24, 1976

NEARING COMPLETION

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HONG KONG'S HOUSING PROGRAMME PASSED ANOTHER MILESTONE THIS MONTH WITH THE COMPLETION OF TWO NEW MAJOR ESTATES BY THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT'S ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE.

THE TWO LATEST HOUSING COMPLEXES ARE THE $50 MILLION LEK YUEN ESTATE AT SHA TIN AND THE $53 MILLION HING WAH ESTATE AT CHAI WAN, WHICH TOGETHER PROVIDE HOMES FOR SOME 37,700 PEOPLE.

AND THE LAST FEW BLOCKS OF TWO OTHERS LAI KING AND KWAI SHING NOW NEARING COMPLETION AT KWAI CHUNG SHOULD BE READY IN THE NEXT TWO MONTHS TO HOUSE ANOTHER 57,000 PEOPLE.

THESE FOUR ESTATES ARE AMONG EIGHT BEING BUILT BY THE P.W.D.'S ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE UNDER THE HOUSING AUTHORITY'S 10-YEAR HOUSING PLAN.

THE REMAINING IN THE P.W.D.'S BUILDING PROGRAMME ARE SHUN LEE TSUEN AT CLEARWATER BAY ROAD, YU WAN AT CHAI WAN, PAK TIN ALL OF WHICH ARE AT SHEK KIP MEI, AND TAI HING AT TUEN MUN UNDER VARIOUS STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION.

+ALL THESE ESTATES ARE BASED ON THE NEW CONCEPT OF PROVIDING AN INTEGRATED COMMUNITY, RATHER THAN MERELY BASIC ACCOMMODATION,+ MR. JOSEPH LEI, CHIEF P.W.D. ARCHITECT, SAID TODAY.

+THIS MEANS NOT ONLY BUILDING HIGHER STANDARD ACCOMMODATION, BUT INCORPORATING ALL BASIC COMMUNITY AND COMMERCIAL FACILITIES THAT ARE AN ESSENTIAL PART OF A BALANCED COMMUNITY.

+TO THIS END, LARGE RECREATIONAL AREAS WITH REST GARDENS AND PLAYGROUNDS, WELFARE CENTRES, SHOPPING AND MARKET CENTRES, CARPARKS, RESTAURANTS, AS WELL AS SCHOOLS AND CLINICS ARE PROVIDED AS INTEGRAL PARTS OF OUR NEW HOUSING ESTATES,+ HE SAID.

THE P.W.D. ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE IS NOW IN THE PROCESS OF HANDING OVER THE NEWLY-COMPLETED ESTATES TO THE HOUSING AUTHORITY, AND IT IS EXPECTED THAT TENANTS WILL BE MOVING IN SOON.

LEK YUEN ESTATE COMPRISES SEVEN DOMESTIC BLOCKS AND COVERS AN AREA OF 10 HECTARES (25 ACRES). IT IS A SELF-CONTAINED DEVELOPMENT WITH ITS OWN SHOPPING CENTRE, COMMUNITY FACILITIES AND PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES.

TWO OF THE SEVEN BLOCKS WERE COMPLETED AND HANDED OVER EARLY THIS YEAR AND ARE ALREADY PARTLY OCCUPIED. THE REMAINING FIVE BLOCKS WERE FINISHED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH.

THE ESTATE PROVIDES A TOTAL OF 3,250 FLATS OF THREE BASIC SIZES FOR FAMILIES WITH FIVE, SEVEN AND NINE PERSONS.

THE LARGEST

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