XN000022-1977-07-18 — Page 3

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MONDAY, JULY 18, 1977

+THE OFFICE'S STAFF WILL COMBINE SPECIALIST KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE OF ENGINEERING AND GEOLOGY SO THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO ASSUME A LEADING AND GUIDING ROLE IN ADDITION TO THE IR SUPERVISORY ROLE,+ MR. O'RORKE SAID.

SOME OF THE PROPOSED FUNCTIONS OF THE NEW BODY HAVE BEEN CARRIED OUT IN THE PAST BY SECTIONS OF THE P.W.D., SUCH AS THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE AND THE SOILS ENGINEERING DIVISION OF THE BUILDING ORDINANCE OFFICE SET UP ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE 1972 LANDSLIDE INQUIRY AS WELL AS BY P.W.D. CONSULTING ENGINEERS.

THE NEW GEOTECHNICAL CONTROL OFFICE WILL BE DIVIDED INTO TWO BRANCHES, WITH A TOTAL OF FIVE DIVISIONS.

ONE BRANCH WILL DEAL WITH ALL GEOTECHNICAL SLOPE PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH ENGINEERING WORK, THE OTHER SIMILAR PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH BUILDINGS.

ONE DIVISION OF THE BUILDING BRANCH IS ALREADY FUNCTIONING IN THE P.W.D.'S BUILDING ORDINANCE OFFICE, SUPERVISING SLOPES IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR. A SECOND DIVISION WILL BE CREATED IN THE B.0.0. TO SUPERVISE THE GEOTECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS BY AUTHORITIES SUCH AS THE HOUSING AUTHORITY AND THE ARCHITECTURAL OFFICE OF THE P.W.D. WHERE SLOPES ARE INVOLVED.

THE THREE DIVISIONS OF THE ENGINEERING BRANCH WILL EACH

HAVE SEPARATE AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY.

ONE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE GEOTECHNICAL ASPECTS OF CIVIL ENGINEERING WORK CARRIED OUT BY SUCH GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS AS THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE, CIVIL ENGINEERING OFFICE AND THE NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE P.W.D.

THIS DIVISION WILL CHECK THE DESIGN AND SUPERVISION

OF SLOPES INCLUDED IN CIVIL ENGINEERING PROJECTS.

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A SECOND DIVISION WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EXISTING SLOPES INVOLVING THEIR REGULAR INSPECTION, IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL DANGER THROUGH SUSPECTED INSTABILITY, AND ARRANGING FOR REMEDIAL ACTION.

THIS DIVISION WILL ALSO FORM A DATA BANK OF INFORMATION COVERING ALL THE GEOTECHNICAL SURVEYS CARRIED OUT IN HONG KONG.

A THIRD DIVISION OF THE ENGINEERING BRANCH OF THE GEOTECHNICAL CONTROL OFFICE WILL BE FORMED BY AMALGAMATING THE EXISTING P.W.D. QUARRIES SECTION WITH THE MATERIALS TESTING LABORATORIES WHICH WILL PLACE SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON EXPANDING SOIL TESTING TO COPE WITH THE EXPECTED INCREASE IN GEOTECHNICAL ACTIVITY IN HONG KONG.

THE DIVISION WILL ALSO CARRY OUT SITE INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING BORING AND SAMPLING TO OBTAIN SPECIMENS FOR TESTING IN THE DIVISION'S LABORATORIES,

IN ADDITION, A LAND SURVEY SECTIONS WILL BE FORMED TO CARRY OUT LAND SURVEY WORK FOR ALL DIVISIONS OF THE NEW OFFICE, AND THE READING OF FUTURE SOILS INSTRUMENTATION OF SLOPES.

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