XN000022-1988-11-01 — Page 3

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1988

AND

CONSTRUCTION

SECTOR

WOULD THOSE

BE

"THE STRAIN ON THE BUILDING INCREASE CONSTRUCTION COSTS TO AN EXTENT THAT DEFERMENTS BEYOND

MEET REQUIRED TO

BUDGETARY GUIDELINES WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY NECESSARY.

"AND THE WORKS INVOLVED IN ADVANCING OR ADJUSTING

то CONSTRUCT FACILITIES FOR WORKS PROGRAMMES TO PROVIDE A SITE AND

HE SAID, THE EXPO WOULD ONLY AGGRAVATE THE PROBLEM,

VARIOUS

OUT

POINTED SPOKESMAN AS FOR CONSTRAINTS AT THE AIRPORT, THE THAT KAI TAK COULD NOW HANDLE 14.4 MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR.

ΤΟ SHIFT WITH VARIOUS IMPROVEMENTS TO FACILITIES AND MEASURES

INCREASED TO ABOUT DEMAND TO NON-PEAK HOURS, THIS CAPACITY COULD BE 23 MILLION PASSENGERS.

AIR TRAFFIC, ΚΑΙ TAK

WILL BE

"WITH THE EXPECTED GROWTH IN OPERATING AT FULL CAPACITY BY 1996," HE SAID.

IF AN EXPO IN 1997 "IT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO COPE ATTRACT A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF VISITORS ON TOP OF THE NORMAL AND BUSINESS TRAFFIC.

WERE ΤΟ TOURIST

HAVING "AND THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY OF OPERATIONAL BY 1997.

A NEW AIRPORT

FULLY

THAT

THE

IN LARGE IMPORTANT

"THESE CONSTRAINTS WOULD MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO BRING

OF

OVERSEAS

SO ADDITIONAL

VISITORS, INTERNATIONAL ELEMENT OF AN EXPO WOULD BE LOST.

NUMBERS

"AND IF A LARGE NUMBER OF REGULAR VISITORS AND BUSINESSMEN BECAUSE AN EXPO WAS BEING WERE PREVENTED FROM COMING TO HONG KONG HELD, THE PUBLIC RELATIONS IMPACT COULD BE QUITE NEGATIVE."

APART FROM THE LIMITATIONS HOLDING AN EXPO IN 1997 WOULD KONG'S INTERNAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM.

AT ΚΑΙ TAK, THE SPOKESMAN SAID ALSO PUT TREMENDOUS STRAIN ON HONG

1996, DAILY

PUBLIC HE SAID.

BY

1996, EVEN WITHOUT AN OF THE HARBOUR WILL BE

"OUR CURRENT PROJECTION IS THAT BY TRANSPORT BOARDINGS WILL INCREASE BY 28 PER CENT OVER 1986,

"THESE PROJECTIONS ALSO SHOW THAT EXPO, TRAFFIC ON MAJOR ROADS ON BOTH SIDES SEVERELY CONGESTED.

ISLAND, THE "FOR EXAMPLE, ON HONG KONG

VOLUME OF VEHICULAR OF GLOUCESTER CAPACITY TRAFFIC IS FORECAST TO EXCEED

ROAD BY 10 PER CENT AND VICTORIA PARK ROAD BY 60 PER CENT.

THE

IS EXPECTED TO BI.

"THE CAPACITY OF THE CROSS HARBOUR TUNNEL EXCEEDED BY 70 PER CENT, AND KWUN TONG ROAD BY 40 PER CENT."

HAD BEEN PLANNED BACKGROUND OF

THE SPOKESMAN SAID MAJOR TRANSPORT PROJECTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MAIN RECLAMATIONS AGAINST THIS CONTINUED GROWTH IN TRAFFIC DEMAND.

/"IF THE