XN000022-1979-02-26 — Page 5

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1979

HUGE INVESTMENT NEEDED FOR NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT

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THE SCOPE AND SPEED OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW TERRITORIES WILL INVOLVE A HUGE INVESTMENT BY THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTORS IN LAND, WATER AND POWER SUPPLIES, ROADS, BUILDINGS, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT.

THE SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, MR. DEREK JONES SAID THIS TODAY (MONDAY) AT THE OPENING OF THE 1979 ASIAN REGIONAL MEETING OF THE COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATION OF SURVEYING AND LAND ECONOMY.

AND MR. JONES TOLD DELEGATES AT THE EXCELSIOR HOTEL CONVENTION CENTRE THAT THE COMMUNICATIONS PROBLEM OF LINKING NEW TOWNS IN THE NEW TERRITORIES WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH OLDER URBAN AREAS WAS +ENORMOUS+.

HE ADDED: IT HAS TO BE TACKLED AT THE SAME TIME AS EFFORTS ARE MADE TO OVERCOME THE GROWING THREAT OF TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN THE OLD URBAN AREAS THROUGH NEW URBAN MOTORWAYS, ELEVATED ROADS, FLYOVERS, TUNNELS AND, ABOVE ALL, THROUGH THE BUILDING OF AN UNDERGROUND RAILWAY,

OUTLINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN NEW TOWNSHIPS IN THE NEW TERRITORIES WHICH, BY THE LATE 1980S, ARE EXPECTED TO CATER FOR A POPULATION OF OVER TWO MILLION PEOPLE AND THE CENTRAL URBAN REGION AROUND THE HARBOUR, MR. JONES WENT ON:

+ THE NEW TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS WILL BE LINKED TO THE CENTRAL URBAN REGION BY TWO MAJOR CORRIDORS, ONE ON THE WEST COMPRISING AN EXTENSION OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY, LINKED AT ITS TERMINUS WITH EXPRESS BUS SERVICES DOWN A MAJOR MOTOR ROAD,

+ON THE EAST THE OLD SURFACE RAILWAY IS BEING MODERNISED AND ELECTR IF IED TO TAKE A GREAT DEAL MORE TRAFFIC.

+FINALLY ALL THE NEW TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS WILL BE JOINED TOGETHER BY A CIRCULAR HIGH STANDARD ROAD.+

MR. JONES SAID DEVELOPMENTS OF THIS MAGNITUDE WOULD CREATE PROBLEMS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, INCLUDING AIR AND WATER POLLUTION FROM NEW INDUSTRIES AND ELECTRIC POWER STATIONS, PROBLEMS OF SEWAGE AND SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL, NOISE AND TRAFFIC.

BUT, HE SAID +MEASURES ARE ALREADY BEING TAKEN TO MONITOR ENVIRONMENTAL EMISSIONS AND TO LAY DOWN STANDARDS,

+ALL LARGE NEW DEVELOPMENTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS TO ENSURE THAT THEY MEET REASONABLE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS,+

MR. JONES SAID HONG KONG WAS A FASCINATING PLACE FOR THE SURVEYOR AT THE PRESENT TIME. HE SAID IT PRESENTED A WIDE SPECTRUM OF THE PROBLEMS FACED BY YOUR PROFESSION+ ACROSS THE WHOLE RANGE OF ITS DISCIPLINES AND IN A CONCENTRATED FORM AND IN A RELATIVELY SMALL COMPASS.

HE SAID: