XN000022-1983-06-13 — Page 2

MONDAY, JUNE 13, 1983

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GOVERNMENT FORGING AHEAD WITH MAMMOTH ROAD PROJECTS

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THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE SPENDING A PROJECTED TOTAL OF $6.3 BILLION ON NEW ROAD CONSTRUCTION WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS.

THIS MASSIVE SUM WILL BE USED BY THE HIGHWAYS OFFICE TO BUILD AN ESTIMATED 145 KILOMETRES OF ADDITIONAL ROADS PLUS VARIOUS STRUCTURES FOR PEDESTRIANS AND TRAFFIC.

THESE NEW ROADS WOULD REPRESENT AN INCREASE OF 12 PER CENT OVER THE EXISTING 1 200-KILOMETRE ROADWAYS, THE GOVERNMENT PRINCIPAL HIGHWAY ENGINEER, MR HAROLD BEATON, SAID.

+BUT MORE IMPORTANT, WE PROJECT THAT THE TOTAL PAVED ROAD AREA OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WILL EXPAND BY AS MUCH AS 22 PER CENT, FROM 11 MILLION SQUARE METRES TO SOME 13.4 MILLION SQUARE METRES,

+THIS MEANS THAT THE NEW ROADS TO BE BUILT WILL GENERALLY BE WIDER AND HAVE MORE TRAFFIC LANES,+ HE EXPLAINED.

FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR ALONE, ABOUT $1.15 BILLION WILL BE SPENT, UP BY 21.7 PER CENT OVER SOME $900 MILLION EXPENDED IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR.

THESE PROJECTS EXCLUDE THOSE TO BE BUILT IN THE NEW TOWNS WHERE THE CAPITAL COST OF THE ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE IS LUMPED INTO THE TOTAL PACKAGES OF THE TOWNSHIPS.

+THE MAMMOTH ROAD EXPANSION PROGRAMME DOVETAILS INTO HONG KONG'S OVERALL TRANSPORT NETWORK, PROVIDING GREATER CAPACITY FOR THE MOVEMENT OF PASSENGERS AND GOODS,+ MR BEATON SAID.

CURRENTLY. THE NUMBER OF BUS PASSENGERS AVERAGES

3.5 MILLION A DAY, MAKING BUS TRAVEL BY FAR THE MOST WIDELY USED TRANSPORT MODE IN HONG KONG,

FORMING PART OF THE OVERALL ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME ARE THE VARIOUS FEEDER ROAD SYSTEMS BEING CONSTRUCTED TO SERVICE RAILWAY COMMUTERS IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.

+THESE FEEDER ROADS ARE ESSENTIAL AS FEW PEOPLE LIVE NEXTDOOR TO RAILWAY STATIONS, HE SAID.

AT THE MOMENT, ABOUT 120 SEPARATE ROAD PROJECTS ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND SOME 80 ARE IN VARIOUS STAGES OF PLANNING.

ON HONG KONG ISLAND, MAJOR PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETED WITHIN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS INCLUDE THE ISLAND EASTERN CORRIDOR STRETCHING FROM VICTORIA PARK TO CHAI WAN.

IN URBAN KOWLOON, THE WEST KOWLOON CORRIDOR SHOULD GREATLY IMPROVE TRAFFIC FROM YAU MA TEI TO LAI CHI KOK WHEN THIS ELEVATED ROAD SYSTEM IS COMPLETED IN 1987, HE SAID.

/+ROAD TRAFFIC