XN000022-1986-12-01 — Page 6

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MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1986

BY THEN, THE TOTAL URBAN AREAS OF THE EIGHT NEW TOWNS WOULD AMOUNT TO 8 800 HECTARES, WHICH COMPARED WITH 5 600 HECTARES OF SERVICED LAND IN THE MAIN URBAN AREAS OF HONG KONG ISLAND AND KOWLOON.

+ACCORDING TO ADOPTED PLANNING STANDARDS THESE EXISTING AND COMMITTED URBAN DEVELOPMENT AREAS WILL CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF ABOUT 6.2 MILLION PERSONS,+ MR BARNES SAID.

+ABOUT HALF OF THIS CAPACITY WILL BE IN THE NEW TOWNS.+

ON THIS BASIS IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE LONG-TERM PLANNING TARGET SHOULD BE TO IDENTIFY THE APPROPRIATE URBAN DEVELOPMENT AREAS FOR A TOTAL OF 7.1 MILLION PERSONS AT THE CURRENT PLANNING STANDARDS.

THE PLANNING PROCESS FOR FORMULATING HONG KONG'S FUTURE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY BEYOND THE EXISTING NEW TOWNS CONSISTED OF A SERIES OF CHOICES, HE SAID.

BROADLY SPEAKING, THE FIRST MAJOR QUESTION WAS WHETHER TO CONTINUE WITH THE PATTERN OF DECENTRALISED GROWTH BY CONSTRUCTING MORE NEW TOWNS AWAY FROM THE MAIN URBAN AREAS, OR TO RETURN TO A CENTRALISED GROWTH PATTERN BY EXPANDING AROUND THE HARBOUR, OR TO CONTINUE WITH A COMBINATION OF THE TWO STRATEGIES.

MR BARNES SAID IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY FEASIBLE DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THE WHOLE TERRITORY OF HONG KONG WAS DIVIDED INTO FIVE SUB-REGIONS FOR CARRYING OUT PLANNING STUDIES.

EACH STUDY EXAMINED THE SUB-REGION TO RECOMMEND POTENTIAL LAND USE AND TRANSPORT PLANS IF IT WAS REQUIRED TO ACCOMMODATE VARIOUS SIZES OF POPULATION UP TO ITS ULTIMATE CAPACITY.

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS AS WELL AS THE QUANTIFIED PLANNING STANDARDS WERE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION IN FORMULATING THESE DEVELOPMENT PLANS.

IN ADDITION THE STUDIES ALSO IDENTIFIED THE FEASIBLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROVISION OF ADDITIONAL KEY INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES.

THE PLANS TOGETHER PROVIDED THE TOTAL AGGREGATE OF POTENTIAL LAND USE SCHEMES WHICH WERE FEASIBLE EITHER IN ISOLATION OR AS PART OF AN OVERALL SCHEME.

THE SCHEMES IF DEVELOPED FULLY WOULD PROVIDE FAR GREATER CAPACITY THAN WAS REQUIRED FOR A LONG TIME.

/SIMILARLY, A SET