XN000022-1985-03-31 — Page 5

SUNDAY, MARCH 31, 198:

GOVERNMENT PLANNING AHEAD TO 21ST CENTURY *****

RECLAMATIONS AT YAU MA TEI, GREEN ISLAND, WAN CHAI AND HUNG HOM BAY; NEW TRUNK ROAD LINKING AREAS LIKE SHA TIN AND TSUEN WAN; A ROAD TUNNEL FROM SHA TIN TO DIAMOND HILL; A SECOND HARBOUR CROSSING FROM QUARRY BAY TO CHA KWO LING ARE SOME OF THE MAJOR SCHEMES OF FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OUTLINED BY THE SECRETARY FOR LANDS AND WORKS, MR NICKY CHAN, TODAY (SUNDAY).

SPEAKING AT A SYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY THE HONG KONG AFFAIRS SOCIETY, MR CHAN SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS CONSCIOUSLY PLANNING AHEAD TO THE 21ST CENTURY FIRMLY INTENDING TO PROVIDE THE BASIC ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH HONG KONG COULD CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND PROSPER.

MR CHAN SAID HONG KONG'S INFRASTRUCTURE WAS THE VERY LIFE BLOOD OF THE ECONOMY, AND INCLUDED LAND SUPPLY, TRANSPORT COMMUNICATIONS, PUBLIC UTILITIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TOWNS.

TWO MAIN PATTERNS FOR POSSIBLE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED, MR CHAN SAID, BOTH OF WHICH WOULD ACCOMMODATE AN ADDITIONAL 900 000 PEOPLE TAKING THE TOTAL POPULATION OF HONG KONG UP TO 7.1 MILLION.

THEY WERE IDENTIFIED FOLLOWING AN IN-DEPTH STUDY TO DETERMINE THE FORM OF DEVELOPMENT INTO THE 21ST CENTURY, WITH THE AIRPORT RETAINED AT KAI TAK.

THE PATTERNS CONTAIN SEVERAL COMMON COMPONENTS UPON WHICH EARLY ATTENTION WOULD BE FOCUSED IN THE SHAPE OF FURTHER FEASIBILITY STUDIES BEFORE THEY WOULD BE INCLUDED AS ITEMS IN THE PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME, MR CHAN SAID.

+RECLAMATIONS AT YAU MA TEI AND GREEN ISLAND TO ACCOMMODATE 310 000 PEOPLE AND AT WAN CHAI AND HUNG HOM BAY TO ACCOMMODATE A FURTHER 90 000 ARE COMMON TO BOTH PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENTS AS ARE SEVERAL TRUNK HIGHWAYS AND PASSENGER RAIL SYSTEMS.+

→AT 1982 PRICES, BOTH PATTERNS ARE ESTIMATED TO COST ABOUT $220 BILLION - A CONSIDERABLE BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE SUM PROVIDED IT CAN BE EVENLY SPREAD, HE SAID.

WHILE THESE WERE LONGER TERM PLANNING, MR CHAN SAID THERE WERE MORE IMMEDIATE PLANS FOR IMPROVING THE PRESENT INFRASTRUCTURE WHICH WOULD LINK WITH THE DEVELOPMENT BEING CONSIDERED FOR THE

1990S AND BEYOND.

/THE NEW