XN000022-1988-08-04 — Page 10

THURSDAY, AUGUST 4, 1988

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CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT STATISTICS FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 1988

CONTRACTORS

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN INCLUDING WORK CARRIED OUT AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, AT ERECTED BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES, AND AT OTHER MINOR WORK LOCATIONS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1988 AMOUNTED TO $9,541 MILLION, ACCORDING THE RESULTS OF THE QUARTERLY SURVEY OF CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT RELEASED TODAY (THURSDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

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THIS AMOUNT IS ABOUT THE SAME AS IN THE PRECEDING QUARTER BUT 27.6 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1987.

THE INDEX OF GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1988 WAS 144.8, WITH THE QUARTERLY AVERAGE OF 1982 BEING TAKEN AS 100.

THE CORRESPONDING INDEXES FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 1987 AND THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1987 WERE 144.3 AND 113.4 RESPECTIVELY.

WITH REGARD TO THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE OF 27.6 PER CENT IN THE VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1988 OVER THAT IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1987, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT POINTED OUT THAT THIS WAS PARTLY DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN CONSTRUCTION COSTS.

PERFORMED,

HE REMARKED THAT THE VOLUME OF CONSTRUCTION WORK AFTER DISCOUNTING COST INCREASE, ACTUALLY GREW MUCH MORE SLOWLY THAN IS IMPLIED BY THE NOMINAL CONSTRUCTION VALUES REPORTED IN THIS PRESS RELEASE. READERS SHOULD BEAR THIS POINT IN MIND WHEN INTERPRETING THE SURVEY RESULTS.

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1988 WAS $7,384 MILLION. THIS WAS 1.2 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND 27.8 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1987.

APART FROM WORK PERFORMED AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT ERECTED BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES AND OTHER MINOR WORK LOCATIONS WAS $2,157 MILLION, WHICH WAS 2.6 PER CENT LOWER THAN IN THE PRECEDING QUARTER BUT 27 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1987.

OF THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, $2,388 MILLION WAS RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SPONSORED BY PUBLIC SECTOR (INCLUDING HỌNG KONG GOVERNEMNT, MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY CORPORATION AND KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY CORPORATION).

THIS REPRESENTED INCREASES OF 1.5 PER CENT AND 21.9 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND THE FIRST QUARTER 1987 RESPECTIVELY.

OF

/AS FOR

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