XN000022-1983-07-21 — Page 2

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1983

SOME $1.6 BILLION BEING SPENT ON ROADS THIS YEAR

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SOME $1.6 BILLION WILL BE SPENT ON HONG KONG'S ROADS THIS YEAR, THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, MR ALAN SCOTT SAID TODAY.

THIS IS AN IMPRESSIVE FIGURE IN A YEAR WHEN FOR OBVIOUS REASONS GOVERNMENT IS BEING VERY CAREFUL WITH PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, MR SCOTT ADDED.

LAST YEAR, IT SPENT ONE BILLION DOLLARS ON HIGHWAY PROJECTS AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING ROADS, INCLUDING THE ABERDEEN TUNNEL, THE WIDENING OF THE ISLAND ROAD BETWEEN WONG CHUK HANG AND DEEP WATER BAY, STUBBS ROAD FLYOVER, AND THE AIRPORT TUNNEL, AMONG OTHER SUCH PROJECTS, MR SCOTT SAID, IN A TALK AT THE TUNG WAH LUNCHEON MEETING.

MR SCOTT EXPLAINED THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS PHYSICALLY LIMITED AS WELL AS FINANCIALLY LIMITED IN WHAT IT COULD DO IN THE URBAN AREAS, BECAUSE OF THE IR DENSITY.

+ALSO WE HAVE TO LIMIT ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION THROUGH THE GROWTH OF VEHICLES IN THE URBAN AREAS. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT IN TERMS OF PROVIDING NEW ROADS IN THE URBAN AREAS, WE ARE WELL INTO THE ERA OF DECREASING RETURNS ON EXPENDITURE, HE SAID.

GOVERNMENT'S POLICY ON INTERNAL TRANSPORT, MR SCOTT SAID, WAS PUBLISHED IN THE 1979 WHITE PAPER, WHICH STATED THREE MAIN OBJECTS - FIRST, TO IMPROVE THE ROAD SYSTEM, SECOND TO EXPAND AND TO UPGRADE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM, AND, THIRD, TO ENSURE THE MOST ECONOMIC USE OF THE ROAD SYSTEM.

+BUT NOTHING STANDS STILL, PARTICULARLY IN TRANSPORT; AND I EXPECT TO SEE A CAREFUL RE-DÉFINEMENT OF PROGRAMMES TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMUNITY DERIVES THE GREATEST BENEFIT FROM THE CONSIDERABLE EXPENDITURE ON THE TRANSPORT PROGRAMMES, HE SAID.

SPEAKING OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT, MR SCOTT SAID THE OPENING OF THE LAST STAGE OF THE ELECTRIFIED AND MODERNISED SERVICE OF THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY CORPORATION MARKED ANOTHER IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN HONG KONG'S TRANSPORT HISTORY AND WAS FURTHER EVIDENCE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S DETERMINATION TO IMPROVE THE MOBILITY OF PEOPLE AND GOODS IN HONG KONG.

AS FOR BUSES, HE SAID MUCH WORK HAD GONE INTO RESTRUCTURING BUS ROUTES SERVING THE NORTH-WEST NEW TERRITORIES, TO GET RIGHT THE COMPLEMENTARY ROLE BETWEEN RAIL AND TRANSPORT AND TO AVOID WASTEFUL DUPLICATION. THIS RESULTED IN A GROWING NETWORK OF FEEDER BUS ROUTES WHICH PROVIDE AN EFFICIENT MEANS OF SERVICE FOR THE VARIOUS RAILWAY STATIONS. NEW FEEDER ROUTES ARE BEING INTRODUCED TO PROVIDE LINK SERVICES TO THE MONG KOK AND KOWLOON STATIONS OF THE KCR.

نيا.