XN000022-1991-07-23 — Page 4

3

TUESDAY, JULY 23, 1991

QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARDS IN CONSTRUCTION PRAISED

ΤΟ

HONG KONG HAS THE EXPERTISE AND THE TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE CONSISTENTLY MAINTAIN HIGH STANDARDS OF WORK, THE SECRETARY FOR WORKS, MR KENNETH KWOK, SAID THIS (TUESDAY) EVENING.

BEEN

MR KWOK SAID THE WORKS BRANCH AND THE WORKS DEPARTMENTS TOGETHER WITH THE HONG KONG CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATION (HKCA) HAD STRIVING TO ACHIEVE INTERNATIONAL QUALITY STANDARDS IN BUILDING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION.

"TO THIS END, WE HAVE PROMULGATED A RECENT POLICY STATEMENT COMMIT OURSELVES TO MOVE TOWARDS THIS OBJECTIVE, HE SAID.

T

то

I AM CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN DEPEND ON THE CO-OPERATION AND GOODWILL OF THE INDUSTRY TO ACHIEVE OUR TARGETS,'

H

MR KWOK WAS SPEAKING AT A DINNER ORGANISED BY THE HKCA TO CELEBRATE LU PAN PATRON'S DAY.

HE SAID BEING A HONG KONG BELONGER AND HAVING A CLOSE WATCH ON THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG, HE WAS ALWAYS AMAZED AND EXCITED BY THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF ITS CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY.

CITING EXAMPLES, HE SAID ONE PUBLIC SECTOR HOUSING UNIT WAS COMPLETED EVERY 13 MINUTES, OR OVER 40,000 UNITS A YEAR, WITH AN EQUIVALENT NUMBER ACHIEVED IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR.

THE STOCK OF ALL BUILDINGS IN HONG KONG, EXCLUDING GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, IS ESTIMATED TO SURPASS 100 MILLION SQUARE METRES WITH THE TOTAL VALUE APPROACHING $1,300 BILLION.

FURTHERMORE, THE CONTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION то GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT HAS AVERAGED OVER 24 PER CENT SINCE 1980 WHILE THE TOTAL CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT IN BOTH THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS IN 1989 AMOUNTED TO SOME $32 BILLION AND $18 BILLION RESPECTIVELY.

"I AM NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT THE SHEER NUMBER OF FLATS OR BUILDINGS THAT ALWAYS IMPRESSES VISITORS, I AM ALSO TALKING ABOUT THOSE EYE-CATCHING HIGH-QUALITY BUILDINGS OR HIGHWAYS THAT WE CAN SEE IN THE URBAN AREAS, OR IN ANY NEW TOWNS," MR KWOK SAID.

"I AM INDEED REFERRING TO THE RAPID PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE AND ARE CONTINUING TO MAKE IN QUALITY CONTROL AS WELL AS IN DESIGN SOPHISTICATION, PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES."

ALL THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN BY CHANCE BUT RATHER BY THE COMMITMENT OF THE INDUSTRY ALL THESE YEARS TO WORKING FOR HIGHER STANDARDS AND QUALITY,

HE NOTED THAT HONG KONG WAS BECOMING MORE AWARE OF THE NEED TO ADOPT QUALITY MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARDS AND IT WAS COMMON THESE DAYS THAT CONTRACTORS WORK TO A PROJECT QUALITY PLAN MAJOR PROJECTS.

IN

/HE ASSURED