November_1966 — Page 34

This in turn lead to the bank crisis and subsequently, tightening of bank credit.

"Its chain reactions in the real estate market and its ultimate effect is a reflection on the wisdom of Govern- ment's decision,”

Mr. Pang thought that the recession would have come about as a natural consequence of the continuous boom. but in this case had been artificially created by circum- stances which forced a sharp and sudden plunge.

INDUSTRIALISED SCHEME STARTED

PILING work has begun on the M$12.8 million industrialis- ed housing project to be carried out at Jalan Pekeliling, Kuala Lumpur by the Larsen and Nielsen Gammon Ma- laysia Consortium.

Target date for completion of the project is Septem- ber 1968. There will be 3,009 flats in seven 17-storey blocks and four four-storey blocks. In each of the tall blocks will be 343 two-room flats and 64 three-room flats,

Part of a Benford Panmaster concrete batching plant being loaded at London's George VI dock on its way to the Jalan Pekeliling project. The plant has a capacity of 50 tons

while the four-storey blocks will have 40 two-room flats cách.

In addition to accommodation for more than 20,000 people, a school, community centre, market and emporium, and car park will be built on the 23-acre site.

MASS TRANSPORT STUDY

COMPUTER analysis being undertaken in London has con- stituted the majority of the work on Hong Kong's Mass Transport Feasibility Study during the past few months. Present travel is being equated with various Hong Kong characteristics such as population, number of households. employment, family income and car ownership, and by making projections of these characteristics it will then be possible to determine future travel patterns,

The complete study is being conducted for the Gov- ernment by Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith and Associates with the assistance of Scott & Wilson. Kirkpatrick and Partners. Its purposes are to study all forms of public transport systems, to devise alternative routes for the po- tentially more attractive systems, to ascertain future travel demands and to formulate a plan of public transport for the future.

Every two months throughout the course of the study, the consultants are submitting a report to the Govern- ment and the Transport Advisory Committee showing the amount of work accomplished and transmitting technical findings that have been developed.

Their latest report shows that the projection of plan- ning characteristics has been completed and the report

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contains discussion of family income and car ownership.

By 1986, it is estimated that 28 per cent, of house- holds will have a monthly income of over HK$1,500, as compared with seven per cent, at present. The number of car-owning households is expected to rise from the existing 37,000 to 256,000,

The final results of the study are scheduled to be available at the end of May. 1967.

LAST PHASE OF M$35 M. ESTATE

WORK has started on the last phase of the M$35 million MacPherson Estate, Singapore, where about 60,000 people will live in 11,000 flats.

This last contract, placed recently by the Housing and Development Board, provides for the construction of three blocks of 12-storey shops and flats with a two-storey an nexe. The blocks will contain a total of 351 units 147 two-room and 175 three-room flats, 27 shops and two eating houses. Total cost of the work is estimated at M$1,189,097.

Three hawkers' centres the Board's answer to the hawker problem are also to be built in the estate.

The Board is now inviting tenders for the construc- tion of 578 housing units and a double-storey hawker cen- tre in the new residential estate being built on reclaimed swampland at Kallang Basin. The flats which will be in two six-storey and two 10-storey blocks are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

This is the first tender for contract work in Kal- lang Basin Neighbourhood 2, where there will be a total of 3,000 units of one, two and three-room flats.

Some 2,000 housing units in six 12-storey blocks are now being built in Neighbourhood 1 and another 2,500 flats there will be built next year.

CEMENT SHORTAGE

CEMENT had been in short supply in Bangkok during the past few months, but this shortage would end with the completion of the facilities for the Asian International Trade Fair and the 5th Asian Games, said Mr. M. R. Rapeepatana Kasemsri, assistant manager of Siam Cement Co. Ltd., last month.

He stated that the shortage, which was due to un- usually increased demand by both government and private interests, had now been partly solved because the cabinet recently ordered the release of 8,000 tons of cement stock to meet the demand.

The company's new factory at Thung Song, Nakorn Srithmaraj would start production in November at the rate of 1,000 tons a day and a new kiln of 1,500 tons a day had been ordered for their Tha Luang factory. In addition a new plant is planned in north-east Thailand to meet the demand in that part of the country.

PLASTIC LINING FOR TUNNEL

PRESSED P.V.c. sheets mounted on to aluminium support- ing framework will be used as the secondary lining for the mile-long Lion Rock_motor tunnel which connects Kowloon Tong and Sha Tin through the Kowloon Hills of Hong Kong.

To be supplied by Government, the sheets will be light green in colour with a mat finish designed to reduce glare in the tunnel. Space will be reserved between the primary and secondary linings to accommodate conduits and trunkings supplying lighting to the tunnel.

Before inviting tenders for the work, Government is now asking specialist contractors with experience of this type of installation to forward details to the Public Works Department. Work is expected to start before the end of this year.

LARGEST FIBREGLASS ROOF

THE United States pavilion at the Asian Trade Fair. Bang- kok, will have the largest fibreglass roof ever built in Asia. The US$300,000 structure is designed by Louis Berger, Ltd., which has an office in Bangkok, and the

Far East Architect & Builder November, 1966