XN000022-1991-01-24 — Page 12

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 1991

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"SINCE CHINA REOPENED ITS DOOR, MUCH HAS BEEN DONE TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS. ROAD CONNECTIONS HAVE BEEN IMPROVED. AIR SERVICES NOW LINK HONG KONG WITH MANY CHINESE CITIES. AND A VARIETY OF FERRIES, HOVERCRAFT AND SEAGOING VESSELS PLY REGULAR ROUTES UP RIVER AND ALONG THE COAST TO MAJOR CITIES. BUT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE, PARTICULARLY IN HONG KONG TO COPE WITH THE EXTRAORDINARY GROWTH IN DEMAND.

"OUR INFRASTRUCTURAL PLANS MUST BE DESIGNED TO CATER NOT SIMPLY FOR OUR OWN DOMESTIC EXPORTS, BUT ALSO RE-EXPORTS COMING FROM OR DESTINED FOR THE MAINLAND. WE BELIEVE THAT THE AVAILABILITY TO CHINA OF SUCH FACILITIES IN HONG KONG WILL BE OF MUTUAL BENEFIT TO HONG KONG AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTHERN CHINA.

It

SIR DAVID TOLD THE DELEGATES THAT THE INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS OFFERED EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPATION BY BOTH LOCAL FIRMS AND OTHERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

MANY ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT WOULD BE VERY ATTRACTIVE TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR, HE SAID, AND "TRUE TO OUR TRADITION OF FREE AND OPEN COMPETITION, THE PLAYING FIELD WILL BE A LEVEL ONE AND THE REFEREE INTERESTED ONLY IN THE QUALITY OF PLAY.

+4

EXPANSION OF HIGHWAY AND RAILWAY NETWORK NECESSARY

HONG KONG MUST CONTINUE TO UPGRADE AND EXPAND ITS TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE IN ORDER TO SUSTAIN ITS ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TO BUILD THE FOUNDATION IT NEEDS TO MAINTAIN ITS FUTURE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY, THE SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT, MR MICHAEL LEUNG, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY).

SPEAKING ON "TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG" AT THE APEX '91 CONFERENCE, MR LEUNG SAID: "WE MUST PLAN NOT ONLY FOR THE NEEDS OF TODAY, BUT ALSO FOR THE CONTINUED ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WELL-BEING OF HONG KONG IN THE FUTURE."

A BROAD STRATEGIC PLAN WAS CONTAINED IN THE GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER ON TRANSPORT POLICY PUBLISHED IN 1990 AFTER WIDE PUBLIC CONSULTATION,

MR LEUNG SAID THE TRANSPORT LINKS THE GOVERNMENT PLANNED FOR THE PORT AND AIRPORT DEVELOPMENT ON LANTAU FORMED AN INTEGRAL PART OF AN OVERALL TRANSPORT STRATEGY HONG KONG DEFINITELY NEEDED IN THE NEXT

10 TO 20 YEARS.

A

30

ON THE WESTERN PART OF THE

ON HONG AND THE

ONE OF THE KEY TRANSPORT LINKS WAS ROUTE 3 KILOMETRE-LONG NORTH-SOUTH EXPRESSWAY TERRITORY. IT WOULD EXTEND FROM THE SAI YING PUN RECLAMATION KONG ISLAND VIA THE THIRD CROSS HARBOUR TUNNEL, WEST KOWLOON NEW TERRITORIES TO THE LOK MA CHAU BORDER CROSSING.

/ITS STRATEGIC