September_1970 — Page 4

proval of nearly HK$21.5 million for the project HK$12.7 million. Mechanisation, within and out- by Hong Kong's finance committee.

The building will have a total floor area about 150,000 sq. ft. about 37,800 sq. ft. more than the present GPO at the corner of Pedder Street and Des Voeux Road. It will provide public counter space on the ground and first floors, connected by escalators, accommodation for post office boxes

Model of new GPO

on the first and mezzanine floors, 25,000 sq. ft. of working area for main and parcel sorting, and 35,000 sq. ft. of office space for the post-office headquarters.

The ground floor will rehouse the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club's Star Ferry concourse ticket office, the Government Publication Centre and the Hong Kong Electric Co.'s sub-station.

Mechanisation will be used inside the building as much as possible. It will consist of storage slides for bags, chutes, horizontal and vertical conveyors, some with selective outlets designed to drop loads at appropriate work points.

The building, including lifts, escalators, air- conditioning and alarms, will cost more than

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side the presises, and engineering works will take up another HK$8.7 million.

Building plans approved

The Hong Kong Building Authority approved 80 new building plans of all types in June and certified 48 completed buildings for occupation. Of the plans approved, 24 were on Hong Kong island, 12 in Kowloon, 17 in New Kowloon and 27 in the New Territories.

HK$10 m. road improvement scheme for Central

Work will begin this month to widen a section of Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong, between Murray Road and Queen Victoria Street for four- lane traffic in both directions over most of its length. There will also be a footpath on either side and a central divider.

Together with other associated works, this forms the first stage of a HK$10 million road im- provement scheme designed to provide for a smoother and faster traffic flow through Con- naught Road Central. Implementation of the scheme will be phased in different stages to avoid disruption of traffic, and the first stage will include constructing a central bus terminus on the recla- mation east of the vehicular ferry pier. The ter- minus will cover an area of about 45,000 sq. ft., three times larger than the existing terminus, with covered concrete queue stands.

Additional roads will be constructed to com- plete the road network on the reclamation. This will help delineate the areas available for develop- ment and public amenities, and allow for maxi- mum use of the area.

One of these roads will lead cars crossing the harbour from the vehicular ferry pier along the waterfront to Connaught Road Central by the proposed new general post office and the new skyscraper to be put to the west of the Star Ferry

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HARCOURT RD.

Far East BUILDER, September 1970