XN000022-1997-03-12 — Page 42

19.

the cross-border land crossings handle over 24.000 vehicles and nearly 150,000 passengers a day. In 1997/98, $30 million are proposed to spend to increase staff at Lok Ma Chau and Sha Tau Kok to cope with the build-up in traffic; and

Hong Kong is poised to embark on major improvements under the Railway Development Strategy over the next few years.

Mr Tsang said good progress had also been made on the initiatives he announced last year to create an advanced technology base:

funds for Phase I of the Science Park project has been earmarked. It is estimated that this will cost over $400 million over the next five years;

a site for the second industrial technology centre has been identified. Funds will be available for work to start in 1998; and

the potential of a site in Tuen Mun for the fourth industrial estate are being investigated. The new estate should be ready by the year 2004 when the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation's land bank is expected to be fully taken up.

End

More homes and land from boost in housing spending

More homes and land will be made available as a result of this year's $32.1 billion Budget allocation for housing a 16 per cent increase in real terms over last year's allocation.

-

As a result, about 63,000 new flats will become available in 1997/98 and land supply over the next five years will jump to 587 hectares, compared to 402 hectares over the past five years.

Of the new flats, 21,500 will be public rental flats, 16,000 will be subsidised flats for sale and 4.000 will be flats for the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme operated by the Housing Society. The remaining 21,500 will be produced by the private sector.