XN000022-1987-01-15 — Page 3

THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 1987

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OTHER WORK AT THE TERMINAL TO BE COMPLETED IN NOVEMBER WILL SIGNIFY THE END OF ALL PHYSICAL WORK ON THE KCRC MODERNISATION AND ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT AT A TOTAL COST OF $3 000 MILLION.

SIR DAVID SAID OVER 18 MILLION PASSENGERS TRAVELLED BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA BY RAIL IN 1986, MORE THAN BY ANY OTHER MODE OF TRANSPORT.

THE KCR HAD CARRIED OVER THREE MILLION TONNES OF FREIGHT BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA IN 1985, COMPARED WITH 2.4 MILLION IN 1983 THIS WAS PROJECTED TO REACH SIX MILLION TONNES BY 1990-91.

+THESE INCREASES ARE ONLY ONE ASPECT OF AN EXTREMELY RAPID OVERALL GROWTH IN PASSENGER AND FREIGHT TRAFFIC BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA BY LAND, SEA AND AIR,+ HE SAID.

+THESE DRAMATIC DEVELOPMENTS ARE A REFLECTION OF THE VERY GOOD RELATIONS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA AND UNDERLINE ONCE AGAIN THE IMPORTANT ROLE HONG KONG PLAYS AS A GATEWAY TO CHINA.+

THE TERMINAL WAS ONE OF MANY PROJECTS EITHER IN HAND OR PLANNED WHICH WERE RELATED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG'S TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.

THE NEXT FIVE YEARS WOULD SEE COMPLETION OF A NEW CROSS-BORDER ROAD LINK AT LOK MA CHAU, THE CHINA FERRY TERMINAL IN TSIM SHA TSUI, THE FINAL STAGES OF THE NEW TERRITORIES CIRCULAR ROAD, THE TATE'S CAIRN TUNNEL, THE ROUTE 5 TUNNEL LINKING TSUEN WAN AND SHA TIN AND THE EASTERN HARBOUR CROSSING.

HONG KONG COULD ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE 1990'S OF A MAJOR ROUTE LINKING YUEN LONG WITH TSUEN WAN AND KWAI CHUNG AND POSSIBLY TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF A THIRD HARBOUR CROSSING.

ALL THESE WOULD NOT ONLY BE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS TO HONG KONG'S INTERNAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM, BUT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE INCREASING FLOW OF PEOPLE AND GOODS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND SHENZHEN, AND FURTHER INTO CHINA,

+THE COMPLETION OF THIS TERMINAL IS AN IMPORTANT STEP IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONE OF THE MOST MODERN HIGH-CAPACITY TRANSPORT SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD, + SIR DAVID SAID.

HE SAID HE WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SAY A FEW WORDS OF THANKS FOR THE CO-OPERATION OF VILLAGERS AT LO WU, WHO HAD HAD TO LIVE NEXT DOOR TO A CONSTRUCTION SITE FOR THE LAST FIVE-AND-A-HALF YEARS.

/THEY WOULD