XN000022-1990-11-21 — Page 2

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1990

ACTING CS' SPEECH ON CHEONG'S AMENDED MOTION ON PADS

THE

FOLLOWING

SECRETARY,

THE

NOVEMBER

21,

IS THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE SPEECH BY

HON SIR PIERS JACOBS, IN THE LEGISLATIVE 1990, ON THE AMENDED MOTION MOVED BY CHEONG ON THE PORT AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.

THE ACTING

COUNCIL

CHIEF ON

THE HON

STEPHEN

MEMBERS' RELATED

SIR, I SHALL BE AS BRIEF AS I CAN. I AM GRATEFUL FOR SUPPORT FOR THE PORT AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY PROJECTS. AS MANY MEMBERS HAVE INDICATED, THESE PROJECTS ARE VITAL TO THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG. THE SUPPORT OF THIS COUNCIL

WELCOMED BY THE PROJECT, IN CLEAR TERMS, WILL, I AM SURE, BE COMMUNITY WHICH WE ALL SERVE.

SIR,

ΤΟ

THE

HAVE HAVE

YEAR,

AS MR JAMES TIEN AND MISS LEUNG WAI-TUNG AND OTHERS DEBATE INDICATED, MANY OF THE POINTS THAT WERE RAISED IN THIS ALREADY BEEN COVERED IN THE DEBATE HELD ON THE 31 OCTOBER THIS

ON THAT SO I DON'T INTEND TO REPEAT ALL THE COMMENTS THAT WERE MADE OCCASION, BUT THERE ARE SOME POINTS THAT WERE RAISED, IN PARTICULAR, MR KINGSLEY SIT'S SPEECH, THAT I FEEL I MUST COMMENT UPON BECAUSE

OR REMARKS

IF MADE,

LEFT

UNCHALLENGED, UNCONTRADICTED MISLEADING TO MEMBERS OF THIS COUNCIL AND TO THE PUBLIC.

THE

COULD BE

HISTORY, AS

SHELVED

IN FIRST AND WE

HAD

CHEK LAP KOK AS A PROJECT, OF COURSE HAS A LONG SOME MEMBERS COMMENTED. IT WAS, AS MEMBERS WILL REMEMBER, 1983. THERE WERE VERY CLEAR REASONS AS TO WHY IT WAS SHELVED. OF ALL, AT THAT TIME THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG WAS NOT CLEAR COULD NOT GO AHEAD WITH THE PROJECT UNTIL THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG BEEN

WAS IN

JOINT OF COURSE IT

SETTLED BY THE 1984,

BUT DECLARATION AND SO THE WAY WAS CLEAR FOR THE PROJECT TO GO AHEAD,

AND SO BY THAT TIME, THE BUDGET WAS NOT LOOKING PARTICULARLY STRONG

THE BUDGETARY THE PROJECT WAS TEMPORARILY SHELVED, ONLY BECAUSE OF

BECAUSE SITUATION AT

AND I REPEAT NOT THE TIME, NOT TECHNICAL OR OPERATIONAL FACTORS, AS ALLEGED BY MR SIT.

SETTLED.

OF

OTHER

REGARDING

THE BRIEF GIVEN TO THE CONSULTANTS FOR THE PADS STUDY, WHICH IS OF CHEK AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS, DID INDEED REFER TO THE NON-VIABILITY LAP KOK IN 1983, BUT IT IS DISTRESSING TO HEAR THAT MR SIT HAS CHOSEN

THIS

THE EXTENDING TO

RESERVATIONS COUNCIL BY MISLEAD

MAY I FINANCING TO INCLUDE THE ACTUAL SITING OF CHEK LAP KOK ITSELF.

RELEVANT FACTORS INTO THEREFORE REPEAT ONCE AGAIN THAT TAKING ALL

VIABLE ACCOUNT, CHEK LAP KOK IS INDEED THE MOST SUITABLE AND THE MOST SITE FOR OUR NEW AIRPORT.

SIR,

THE

IN

AS

AD

WE WILL

GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF PADS PROJECTS TO OUR FUTURE, GOVERNMENT FULLY APPRECIATES THE WISH AND THE NEED FOR THE PUBLIC

KEPT INFORMED. GENERAL, AND THIS COUNCIL IN PARTICULAR, TO BE MEMBERS ARE AWARE, WE ARE ALREADY IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH THE LEGCO

CONVENORSHIP. HOC GROUP FORMED UNDER MR STEPHEN CHEONG'S CONTINUE TO BRIEF THE AD HOC GROUP ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECTS,

ONLY LAST AS WR HAVE ALREADY BEEN DOING. OFFICIALS INVOLVED GAVE THE GROUP AN EXTENSIVE BRIEFING. THIS COUNCIL WILL NO DOUBT, IN FUTURE, CLOSELY SCRUTINISE THE OF THE PROJECTS AS SUBMISSIONS ARE MADE TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE APPROVAL.

ALL MONTH,

THE SENIOR MEMBERS OF FUNDING

FOR

/SIR, AS