XN000022-1989-10-12 — Page 4

3

THURSDAY.TOBER 12, 1989

HAVING DISMISSED RETAINING KAI TAK, THE CHIEF SECRETARY THI WESTERN HARBOUR PROJECT, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN THE LARGEST MADE ISLAND, WOULD HAVE INVOLVED IMMENSE ENGINEERING PROBLEMS.

IT WOULD ALSO COST

MORE, TAKE

SAID,

MAN-

LONGER TO COMPLETE AND THE

TRANSPORT SYSTEM WOULD BE LESS SATISFACTORY, HE SAID.

"IN ADDITION, IT WOULD HAVE BLOCKED OFF FROM USE AS A PORT, THE GREAT POTENTIAL OF THE WESTERN HARBOUR WHICH IS NOW FUNDAMENTAL IN OUR NEW STRATEGY," SIR DAVID SAID.

IF

HARBOUR

++ HE

"THE AREA TO THE NORTH WOULD CLEARLY HAVE BEEN INACCESSIBLE WE'D PUT THE AIRPORT THERE. SO WE HAVE DISCOUNTED THE WESTERN APPROACH MAINLY ON THOSE CONSIDERATIONS ALTHOUGH THERE ARE OTHERS, ADDED.

TWO YEARS HEK LAP KOK, ON THE OTHER HAND, WOULD BE AVAILABLE

THAN EARLIER

THE WESTERN HARBOUR

AND

LOWER PROPOSAL,

AT A BILLION FOR WESTERN CONSTRUCTION COST OF $35 BILLION AS AGAINST $44 HARBOUR THIS WAS CLEARLY A BIG FACTOR, THE CHIEF SECRETARY SAID.

"THERE IS A GREATER URBAN DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL AT TUNG AND AT TAI HO FOR SOME 200,000 PEOPLE. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL

LANTAU, 0* HECTARES

LAND AVAILABLE ON NORTH INDUSTRIAL MEASURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT IT WAS EASILY THE BEST HE SAID.

CHUNG OF 370 A

AND ON SOLUTION,

**

WOULD PROVIDE THE NORTH

SIR DAVID ALSO NOTED THAT CHOOSING CHEK LAP KOK FOR MUCH BETTER USE OF STRATEGIC RAIL AND ROAD LINKS ALONG COAST OF LANTAU.

DEAL OF HAVING SPENT

ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR, HE SAID, WAS THAT A GREAT WORK HAD BEEN DONE ON CHEK LAP KOK WITH THE GOVERNMENT MORE THAN $300 MILLION ON ENGINEERING STUDIES.

THERE, "WE ARE VERY CONFIDENT ABOUT THE ENGINEERING SITUATION

AND ABOUT THE THE SOIL SITUATION, ABOUT THE WATER SITUATION AERONAUTICAL SITUATION," HE ADDED.

ABOUT

KAI TAK

"ALL THAT CERTAINTY AGAINST THE TIME CONSTRAINTS OF BECOMING SATURATED BY THE YEAR 1996 HAS ALSO BEEN A BIG FACTOR IN THINKING, SIR DAVID SAID.

OUR

SAID TERMINALS

IN

THE

TURNING ΤΟ NEW PORT FACILITIES, THE CHIEF SECRETARY ADDITION TO TERMINALS 8 AND 9, THERE WOULD BE NEW CONTAINER ON NORTHEAST LANTAU, DEVELOPED ALONGSIDE MULTI-PURPOSE BERTHS AND NEW WEST LAMMA CHANNEL FOR MARINE ACCESS.

GOING OFF

"THERE WILL BE A LONG BREAKWATER IN WESTERN HARBOUR, CHEUNG CHAU, AND THAT WILL PROVIDE SHELTERED WATER TO THE NORTH OF IT, AND WILL REALLY EXTEND THE SIZE OF THE HARBOUR QUITE SUBSTANTIALLY.

/"THERE WILL