XN000022-1980-03-20 — Page 8

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1980

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REMOTE COMMUNITY'S PIER TO BE REBUILT ******

A REMOTE SAI KUNG COMMUNITY'S MAJOR LINK WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD - A SMALL PIER WHICH WAS EXTENSIVELY DAMAGED WHEN STRUCK BY TYPHOON HOPE LAST YEAR IS TO BE REBUILT BY THE GOVERNMENT.

THE COMMUNITY LIVES AT THE SMALL VILLAGE OF NAI CHUNG, FACING PLOVER COVE RESERVOIR, WHOSE NEAREST LARGE TOWN IS TAI PO, REACHED BY FERRY OR +KAIDO+ ACROSS TOLO HARBOUR.

WITHOUT A PIER, THE VILLAGERS ARE ISOLATED, ALTHOUGH BOTH TAI PO AND SAI KUNG CAN BE REACHED BY ROAD.

IN LEARNING THE PLIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF NAI CHUNG THE TAI PO DISTRICT OFFICE DECIDED THAT THE PIER NEEDED TO BE RE-CONSTRUCTED. TENDERS FOR THE WORK WILL SOON BE INVITED.

THE WORK WILL BE CARRIED OUT UNDER THE NEW TERRITORIES ADMINISTRATION'S LOCAL PUBLIC WORKS (LPW) PROGRAMME.

A NTA SPOKESMAN SAID TODAY (THURSDAY) THE PIER WAS VERY MUCH A PART OF THE DAILY LIFE OF VILLAGERS.

+ALTHOUGH THERE ARE PUBLIC PIERS AT NEIGHBOURING WU KWAI SHA AND KEI LING HA, THEY ARE IN PLACES WHICH CANNOT BE REACHED BY MOTOR TRANSPORT, HE SAID.

+HEAVIER USE HAS THUS HAD TO MAKE OF THE NAI CHUNG PIER WHICH HAS WELL SERVED LOCAL RESIDENTS AND THE LARGE NUMBER OF PICNICKERS WHO FLOCK TO THE AREA DURING HOLIDAYS.

THE SPOKESMAN SAID THE COLLAPSE OF THE PIER HAD PREVENTED THE TOLO HARBOUR FERRY SERVICE FROM CALLING AT NAI CHUNG, DESPITE A KAIDO SERVICE WHICH STILL OPERATED, THE RESIDENTS HAD BEEN INCONVENIENCED.

TO ENSURE EARLY RESUMPTION OF FERRY SERVICES, HE SAID, THE PIER NEEDED TO BE REBUILT AS A MATTER OF URGENCY.

ENGINEERING SKETCHES FOR THE PROJECT HAVE BEEN COMPLETED TO A DESIGN WORKED OUT BY NTA ENGINEER, MR WONG KAI-WING,

WORK WILL START IMMEDIATELY AFTER A TENDER HAS BEEN ACCEPTED AND WILL BE COMPLETED EARLY NEXT YEAR.

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