XN000022-1985-08-16 — Page 4

FRIDAY, AUGEN 14,

ALL DOCTORS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE AVAILABILITY OF THE AIDS TESTS THROUGH PRIVATE HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL ORGANISATIONS.

THE SPOKESMAN STRESSED THAT ALL REQUESTS AND RESULTS OF LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS AND CLINICAL CONSULTATIONS WOULD BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL.

THE DEPARTMENT WOULD ALSO PROVIDE IF REQUIRED, NECESSARY ADVICE TO DOCTORS ON MATTERS PERTAINING TO MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS SUSPECTED OF HAVING AIDS, HE ADDED.

FIRST QUARTER CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT FIGURES RELEASED

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THE TOTAL GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985, AT $9 355 MILLION, WAS 1.6 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE PRECEDING QUARTER BUT 5.8 PER CENT ABOVE THE SAME QUARTER OF 1984, ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF THE QUARTERLY SURVEY OF CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT RELEASED TODAY (FRIDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985 WAS $6 259 MILLION. THIS GAVE AN INDEX OF 95.0, WHICH WAS 1.0 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND 1.3 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR. THE QUARTERLY AVERAGE OF 1982 WAS TAKEN AS 100.

AS DISTINCT FROM THE FIGURE ON CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS, THE FIGURES FOR MAIN CONTRACTORS ARE FREE FROM THE EFFECT OF DOUBLE COUNTING CONSTRUCTION VALUE DUE TO THE PREVAILING SUB-CONTRACTING PRACTICE OF THE CONSTRUCTION

INDUSTRY.

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1985 AMOUNTED TO $4 832 MILLION, 5.3 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND 9.3 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT OTHER MINOR WORK LOCATIONS AND ERECTED BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES INCREASED BY 17.2 PER CENT OVER THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND 40.5 PER CENT OVER THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR. AT $1 427 MILLION. IT WAS THE HIGHEST QUARTERLY FIGURE RECORDED BY THE SURVEY TO DATE.

/THE DROP

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