XN000022-1979-08-28 — Page 8

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 1979

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BOOKLET ON METRIC SYSTEM

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THE METRICATION COMMITTEE HAS PUBLISHED A SPECIAL BOOKLET TO ASSIST THE MASS MEDIA IN ADOPTING THE SI UNITS IN THEIR DAILY REPORTING WITH THE AM OF FAMILIARISING THE PUBLIC WITH THE METRIC SYSTEM.

TITLED +A MEDIA GUIDE TO METRIC REPORTING+, THE BOOKLET EXPLAINS THE USE OF SI UNITS IN THE VARIOUS FIELDS OF REPORTING AND FEATURE WRITING AS WELL AS THE LOGIC ON HOW THE CHINESE TRANSLATION WAS ADOPTED.

THE VARIOUS RULES ON SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION, TOGETHER WITH THE WRITING OF NUMBERS, UNITS AND SYMBOLS ARE ALSO ILLUSTRATED.

FOR EASY REFERENCE, 18 CONVERSION CHARTS AND A WIDE RANGE OF CONVERSION FACTORS ARE ALSO INCLUDED AT THE END OF THE BOOKLET.

INTRODUCING THE NEW PUBLICATION, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE METRICATION COMMITTEE SAID TODAY (TUESDAY) THAT THE COMMITTEE WAS AWARE OF THE DIFFICULTY IN PERSUADING PEOPLE TO GIVE UP A SYSTEM THAT THEY WERE ACCUSTOMED TO FOR ANOTHER RELATIVELY NEW SYSTEM.

+AT THE SAME TIME, THE COMMITTEE RECOGNISES THE INFLUENCE OF THE MASS MEDIA ON THE PUBLIC AT LARGE, AND HOPES TO SOLICIT THE IR CO-OPERATION IN DEMONSTRATING WHAT THE SI UNITS ARE AND HOW EASY THEY CAN BE APPLIED IN DAILY USAGE,+ THE SPOKESMAN ADDED.

THE BOOKLET ALSO CONTAINS THE NEW ADDRESS OF THE METRICATION COMMITTEE'S SECRETARIAT WHICH WILL MOVE TO ITS NEW PREMISES LATER THIS YEAR.

60 BUILDING PLANS APPROVED LAST MONTH *****

A TOTAL OF 60 NEW BUILDING PLANS WAS APPROVED LAST MONTH (JULY) BY THE BUILDINGS ORDINANCE OFFICE OF THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, COMPARED WITH 69 IN THE SAME MONTH LAST YEAR.

OF THOSE APPROVED. 14 WERE FOR BUILDINGS ON HONG KONG ISLAND,

17 FOR KOWLOON AND 29 FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES,

THEY INCLUDED A HOTEL IN NATHAN ROAD, A SCHOOL IN HIP WO STREET, KOWLOON, A FIRE SERVICES BUILDING IN TAI SHANG WAI, YUEN LONG, AND A RESTAURANT IN CASTLE PEAK.

THE TOTAL DECLARED COST OF NEW BUILDINGS COMPLETED DURING THE MONTH WAS $165.93 MILLION, COMPARED WITH $216.53 MILLION LAST YEAR.

THE USABLE FLOOR AREA OF NEW BUILDINGS COMPLETED LAST MONTH TOTALLED 185 024.6 SQUARE METRES, COMPRISING 41 144.4 SQUARE METRES OF DOMESTIC FLOOR AREA AND 143 880.2 SQUARE METRES OF NON-DOMESTIC FLOOR AREA.

/THE BUILDINGS