XN000022-1992-10-22 — Page 6

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1992

THESE DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDED THE CONTAINER PORT WHICH ANNUALLY VIED WITH SINGAPORE FOR THE CROWN OF BEING THE WORLD'S LARGEST, THE ROAD TUNNELS THAT TOOK HIGHWAYS THROUGH THE MANY HILLS OF HONG KONG, THREE RAILWAY SYSTEMS OPERATED BY TWO PUBLIC CORPORATIONS WHOLLY OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT BUT RUN ON PRUDENT COMMERCIAL PRINCIPLES, THE EIGHT NEW TOWN DEVELOPMENTS WHICH WOULD UTIMATELY HOUSE 3.3 MILLION PEOPLE.

AND

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, MR HUI SAID APART FROM THE ACP, A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS WOULD ALSO BE TAKING PLACE IN THE COMING YEARS.

THESE INCLUDED THE THREE TERMINALS AT THE CONTAINER PORT, A HK$14 BILLION HIGHWAY CALLED ROUTE 3 WHICH WOULD EXTEND NORTHWARDS TO OPEN UP THE NORTHWESTERN NEW TERRITORIES THROUGH ΤΟ THE CHINESE BORDER AND A NEW MAJOR 10-YEAR SEWAGE STRATEGY COSTING HK$17.8 BILLION TO TACKLE WATER POLLUTION.

ALSO INCLUDED WAS A SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL PROGRAMME COSTING A TOTAL CAPITAL INVESTMENT OF HK$4.8 BILLION PLUS AN ANNUAL OPERATION COST OF HK$660 MILLION.

TURNING TO THE ACP, MR HUI SAID THE PROGRAMME CONSISTED OF 10 INFRASTRUCTURAL PROJECTS COSTING AN ESTIMATED HK$112 BILLION AT 1991 PRICES, ALL TO BE BUILT IN FIVE YEARS FROM 1992.

SEVEN OF THE 10 PROJECTS WOULD BE FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT AS PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS, WHILE THE REMAINING THREE THE NEW AIRPORT, THE AIRPORT RAILWAY AND THE WESTERN HARBOUR CROSSING OPENED TO PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN VARYING WAYS.

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WERE BEING

MR HUI SAID OF THE 61 GOVERNMENT-FUNDED CONTRACTS IN THE ACP, 18 COSTING MORE THAN HK$19 BILLION HAD BEEN LET, ALL AT PRICES BELOW PROJECT ESTIMATES.

"ONE MORE GOVERNMENT WORKS CONTRACT IS EXPECTED TO THE END OF 1992 AND, JUDGING BY THE TENDERS RECEIVED, PRICE IS AGAIN EXPECTED TO BE WITHIN PROJECT ESTIMATES.

BE LET BY THE CONTRACT

"THESE 19 CONTRACTS REPRESENT ABOUT 50 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL VALUE OF GOVERNMENT-FUNDED WORKS CONTRACTS IN THE ACP, OR ABOUT 32 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL COST OF GOVERNMENT-FUNDED PROJECTS IN THE ACP," HE SAID.

MR HUI STRESSED THAT THERE WOULD BE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR CANADIAN COMPANIES TO BE INVOLVED IN HONG KONG'S INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE YEARS TO COME.

WE WELCOME

OPEN

"I DO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO COMPETE BECAUSE ALL THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERTISE WE CAN GET AND WE OPERATE ON AND LEVEL-PLAYING FIELD, HE SAID.

וי

AN

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