XN000022-1992-05-12 — Page 4

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STATEMENT ON MAN-MADE SLOPES

TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1992

IN RESPONSE TO PRESS ENQUIRIES, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE WORKS BRANCH SAID IT WAS GROSSLY MISLEADING TO DESCRIBE THE CATALOGUE OF ABOUT 10,000 MAN-MADE SLOPES HELD WITHIN GOVERNMENT AS "DANGEROUS SLOPES".

"THE GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING OFFICE HAS STUDIED THE 4.300 HIGHEST-RANKED SLOPES LISTED IN THE CATALOGUE. OF THESE, ABOUT 3,400 SLOPES DO NOT REQUIRE PREVENTIVE WORK, AND THE REMAINING 880 SLOPES REQUIRE STABILISING.

"SO FAR, WE HAVE COMPLETED IMPROVEMENT WORK ON OVER 750 SLOPES.

THE CATALOGUE ARE OF A A FURTHER 1,000 STUDIES

"THE SLOPES REMAINING FOR STUDY IN LESSER RISK AND IT IS PLANNED TO COMPLETE EACH YEAR FROM NOW," THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

I

EXTERNAL TRADE STATISTICS FOR MARCH RELEASED

* * *

TOTAL

MERCHANDISE

$142,147 MILLION, INCREASED

TRADE IN MARCH THIS BY 34% IN VALUE AS COMPARED

YEAR,

AT WITH MARCH

LAST YEAR, ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (TUESDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED BY 14% TO $17,052 MILLION WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS ROSE BY 51% TO $51,222 MILLION.

TAKING DOMESTIC EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS TOGETHER, THE VALUE OF TOTAL- EXPORTS INCREASED BY 40% TO $68,274 MILLION. MEANWHILE, THE VALUE OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 30% TO $73,873 MILLION.

FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1992 AS A WHOLE, THE VALUE MERCHANDISE TRADE, AT $386,274 MILLION, INCREASED BY 22% AS WITH THE SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR.

OF

TOTAL COMPARED

OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF COMPARISON, THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS INCREASED MARGINALLY BY 0.4% TO $48,707 MILLION, WHILE THAT OF RE-EXPORTS INCREASED BY 34% TO $139,611 MILLION.

THE VALUE OF TOTAL EXPORTS INCREASED BY 23% TO $188,318 MILLION WHILE THAT OF IMPORTS INCREASED BY 22% TO $197,956 MILLION.

*THE CHANGES IN THE VALUE OF DOMESTIC EXPORTS TO THE 10 MAJOR MARKETS ARE SHOWN IN TABLE 1.

/COMPARING MARCH