XN000022-1991-11-06 — Page 31

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1991

INFRASTRUCTURAL

DEVELOPMENT,

SAID OF

MR BARNES TO TURNING INFRASTRUCTURAL NEEDS HAD CHANGED AS THE BREAD AND BUTTER FUNCTION

TO SERVICES HONG KONG HAD CONTINUED TO CHANGE FROM MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY HAD AS LINKS WITH CHINA HAD BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT.

HE SAID: "IT WAS IN THIS CONTEXT THAT WE HAD TO PLAN FOR A GREATER PORT AND AIRPORT CAPACITY AND IN WHICH WE HAVE TO GIVE A HIGHER PRIORITY TO OUR PHYSICAL TRANSPORT LINKS TO THE MAINLAND WHICH MUCH OF THE FUTURE PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG WILL DEPEND.

"IT WAS ALSO WITHIN THIS CONTEXT THAT WE DECIDED THAT THE AND AIRPORT SHOULD BE SITED TO THE WEST OF HONG KONG.

MUCH

MUCH

UPON

PORT

SMALL TERRITORY, IT HAS SET UP THE

THIS WAS AN IMPORTANT MAJOR PATTERN OF FUTURE

"IN

OUR RELATIVELY STRATEGIC DECISION AS INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT.

"THE PATTERN

IS SIMPLE:

THE WEST, SOUTH

AND NORTH OF THE EXPAND OUR

WHERE WE WILL

TERRITORY WILL BE THE AREAS IN WHICH WE WILL PRINCIPALLY ECONOMY; THE METROPOLITAN AREAS ON THE EAST WILL BE PRIMARILY AIM TO MEET OUR RESIDENTIAL AND RECREATIONAL NEEDS.

"IT 19 NOT OF COURSE AS SIMPLE AS THAT, BASICALLY THE STRATEGY."

BUT THIS REMAINS

TO "IN THIS RESPECT, MR BARNES SAID WHEN THE GOVERNMENT STARTED PREPARE THE SUB-REGIONAL PLANNING STATEMENT OF THE METROPOLITAN AREAS, KIND OF IT WAS DECIDED THAT IT SHOULD BE A PLAN WHICH AIMED AT THE

THE NEW STANDARDS OF DEVELOPMENT WHICH IT WAS ALREADY ACHIEVING IN TOWNS AND THAT THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE URBAN LIVING ENVIRONMENT BE OF ITS MAIN GOALS.

THIS WAS NOT A FORLORN HOPE, HE ADDED.

"WE

ESTATES

ONE

NEARLY ONE

REDEVELOPMENT

OF THIRD

OF

THE THE

HAD ALREADY IN TRAIN A PROGRAMME FOR THE

AFFECTS WHICH HOUSING PUBLIC POPULATION OF THE METROPOLITAN AREAS, AND WE ALREADY HAD IN PLACE LAND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, WHICH COULD LEAD IN THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE DECAYED AND DECAYING AREAS OF THE CITY.

CO-ORDINATE THE NEW REDEVELOPMENT

"WHAT WAS NEEDED WAS A PLAN WHICH WOULD INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS AND RECLAMATIONS WITH THE OF THE OLDER CITY," HE SAID.

THIS WAS WHAT THE METROPLAN, WHICH WAS TO BE THIS MONTH, WAS INTENDED TO ACHIEVE, MR BARNES SAID.

SAFETY,

PUBLISHED LATER

HE SAID THE OF BUILDING THE QUESTION ADDRESSING

A GOVERNMENT HAD ALWAYS TAKEN ACTION AGAINST BUILDINGS FOUND TO BE IN DANGEROUS CONDITION.

OFFICE ADDITIONALLY IN OCTOBER 1989, THE BUILDINGS ORDINANCE LAUNCHED A COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY ON ALL PRIVATE BUILDINGS TO ASSESS AND CATEGORISE THEIR PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND TO IDENTIFY THE ACTIONS WHICH IT SHOULD TAKE TO ASSURE THEIR SAFETY.

/THE MEASURES