XN000022-1984-03-01 — Page 4

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1984

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MR LO SAID THESE PROVIDED EFFICIENT AND FAST CONNECTIONS WITH THE ESTABLISHED CENTRES SO THAT THE NEW COMMUNITIES WERE NO LONGER ISOLATED AND BECAME INTEGRATED PARTS OF THE URBAN SYSTEM.

+TO EFFECT ALL THESE IMPROVEMENTS, MORE THAN $16 BILLION HAS BEEN SPENT, HE ADDED.

REVIEWING THE EARLY DAYS OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW TERRITORIES, MR LO SAID GOVERNMENT EFFORT WAS LIMITED AS DEVELOPMENT HAD TO COMPETE FOR PUBLIC FUNDS ALONG WITH OTHER PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS REQUIRED FOR THE EXISTING URBAN AREAS.

+OBVIOUSLY, NEW TOWN ITEMS DID NOT COMMAND VERY HIGH PRIORITY BECAUSE THE POPULATION THERE WAS MUCH SMALLER THAN IN THE TEEMING URBAN AREAS, HE SAID.

THEN, IN 1972, GOVERNMENT EMBARKED ON THE 10-YEAR PUBLIC HOUSING TARGET AND DECLARED AS ITS COMMITTED AIM TO ACCOMMODATE 1.8 MILLION PEOPLE WITH THE NEXT 10 YEARS.

THE THEN PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SET UP THE NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO COORDINATE THE PLANNING, ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURAL WORKS NEEDED TO ACHIEVE THE TARGET.

+CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ALSO MADE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR FUNDING THIS WORK IN THE FORM OF COMMITTED AND CONTINUED INVESTMENT WITHIN THE OVERALL CONTEXT OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES. NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT HAD ITS OWN VOTE AND THUS THE STIFF COMPETITION FOR PRIORITY WITH ITS URBAN COUNTERPARTS WAS REDUCED, MR LO SAID.

TEAMS OF TOWN PLANNERS, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS WERE FORMED AND CHARGED WITH THE TASK OF DEVELOPING THE SELECTED TOWNS OF TSUEN WAN-KWAI CHUNG-TSING YI, TUEN MUN, SHA TIN, TAI PO-FANLING-SHEK WU HUI, YUEN LONG, SELECTED PARTS OF ISLANDS DISTRICT AND LATER ON JUNK BAY AND MA ON SHAN, HE ADDED.

LOOKING AHEAD, MR LO SAID THERE WAS A NEED FOR MORE LIAISON WITH LOCAL DISTRICT BOARDS TO ENSURE THAT THE WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT TRULY REFLECTED LOCAL REQUIREMENTS.

HE SAID PUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT COULD FORM ONLY PART OF THE INGREDIENTS, ALTHOUGH A SIGNIFICANT PORTION.

+ IT WILL TAKE THE LEAD AND SET THE STAGE BY WAY OF EXAMPLE TO ENCOURAGE PRIVATE INVESTMENT.

+THE CONSTRUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL PREMISES, COMMERCIAL CENTRES AND OFFICE BLOCKS, SHOPS AND OTHER RETAIL AND WHOLESALE OUTLETS, AND DOMESTIC PREMISES TO PROVIDE VARIETIES IN ACCOMMODATION TO ATTRACT MANAGERIAL AND SUPERVISORY STAFF AND THEIR FAMILIES WILL HAVE TO DEPEND ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR,+ HE SAID.

IN AN ENTERPRISE OF THE SCALE SUCH AS NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG, THE COOPERATION AND WILLINGNESS TO PARTICIPATE BY ALL CONCERNED WAS +AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY+, HE ADDED.

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