XN000022-1980-03-12 — Page 5

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 1980

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WHEN 1979 ENDED, THERE WERE STILL MORE THAN 55 000 VIETNAMESE REFUGEES IN HONG KONG CAMPS AWAITING RESETTLEMENT, AND THE SPECTRE OF MORE REFUGEES ARRIVING HUNG OVER 1980.

+ IT WOULD BE AGREEABLE TO RECORD THAT 1979 ENDED WITH A CLEAR-CUT CONCLUSION, THE YEAR BOOK SAYS, +THAT, AS A RESULT OF THE UNDERTAKINGS AND PLEDGES GIVEN AT THE GENEVA CONFERENCE IN JULY, HONG KONG WAS ASSURED THAT BY A CERTAIN DATE ALL OF THE REFUGEES IT HAD HARBOURED WOULD BE RESETTLED ELSEWHERE, AND THAT THE FEAR OF A RENEWED INFLUX HAD BEEN DISPELLED.

+UNFORTUNATELY, REAL LIFE IS RARELY SO TIDY.+

HONG KONG 1980'S SECOND REVIEW CHAPTER ENTITLED: +ENTER THE MTR+ IS ABOUT THE OPENING OF HONG KONG'S MOST SPECTACULAR UNDERTAKING THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY.

+HONG KONG HAS MARKED ITS ENTRY INTO THE 1980'S WITH A SIGNIFICANT NEW ACHIEVEMENT: AFTER 10 YEARS OF INVESTIGATION, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, A MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY IS NOW IN OPERATION LINKING MAJOR URBAN CENTRES IN KOWLOON WITH HONG KONG ISLAND, THE YEAR BOOK SAYS.

THE BOOK POINTS OUT THAT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE RAILWAY IS NOT ONLY HONG KONG'S LARGEST-EVER ENGINEERING PROJECTS: IN WORLD TERMS, IT RANKS AS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST CHALLENGING PROJECTS EVER CARRIED OUT.

+ IT HAS BEEN A MAJOR UNDERTAKING IN OTHER WAYS TOO - NOTABLY IN TERMS OF ALLEVIATING AND COPING WITH THE INEVITABLE DISRUPTION IT HAS CAUSED, IN VARYING DEGREES, TO VIRTUALLY ALL MEMBERS OF THE POPULATION, THE YEAR BOOK SAYS.

+EVERY EFFORT HAS BEEN MADE TO MINIMISE THIS, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN YEARS OF NOISE, DIRT AND INCONVENIENCE, WITH NOT A FEW PEOPLE HAVING TO MOVÉ HOMES OR BUSINESSES TO MAKE WAY FOR THE RAILWAY.+

THE CHAPTER DISCUSSES THE AMBITIOUS CONCEPT OF THE RAILWAY FROM ITS PLANNING THROUGH TO FINANCING, CONTRACT LETTING AND CONSTRUCTION. IT COVERS THE RAILWAY'S OPERATIONS SAFETY AND SECURITY, RELATED DEVELOPMENT, AND LOOKS AT FUTURE TRANSPORT PLANS.

THE YEAR BOOK REVEALS THAT BY THE END OF 1979 THE GOVERNMENT HAD PAID $259 MILLION IN COMPENSATION - $28 MILLION FOR PECUNIARY LOSSES RESULTING FROM THE DISRUPTION CAUSED BY ADJACENT MTR WORKS AND $231 MILLION FOR PROPERTIES RESUMED, SITES CLEARED AND CIVIC FACILITIES REPROVIDED.

THE MODIFIED INITIAL SYSTEM OF THE MTR, RUNNING 15.6 KILOMETRES AND LINKING 15 STATIONS, COST $5800 MILLION. THE 10.5-KILOMETRE TSUEN WAN EXTENSION, SCHEDULED TO OPEN IN 1982, IS COSTING $4 100 MILLION.

+BY THE MID-1980'S. THE NUMBER OF DAILY PASSENGER JOURNEYS IS EXPECTED TO REACH ONE MILLION ON THE MODIFIED INITIAL SYSTEM, WITH THE TSUEN WAN EXTENSION ADDING A FURTHER 800 000, THE YEAR BOOK SAYS.

+THESE FIGURES