TNAG-0770-FCO40-974-Construction-of-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 27

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Right:

John CHOW Fook Chiu,

Trainee Section Manager,

working in the station control

room at Victoria Station during

his training with London

Transport

右:

見習分段車務主任周福超 在維多利亞車站控制室工 作。此乃其在倫敦運輸局 受訓課程的一部份。

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of issuing commercial paper in Hong Kong. Interest charges will constitute some 70 per cent

of the Corporation's on-going operating expense

and therefore constitute a continuing opportunity

for economy.

Operations

During the year there has been increased activity

in training operating staff in anticipation of the

opening of the Railway next year.

Out of over 400 local applications, 1 4 trainee section managers, who will constitute the most senior uniformed staff on the Railway, have been appointed. After a period of background training, these trainees were sent to London Transport for 3 months where they learnt basic railway operating methods and qualified to drive trains, operate signal cabins and were made conversant with station duties and exposed to the general underground railway environment.

Property Development

Earlier in this statement, I mentioned that con- struction of the residential blocks at Kowloon Bay was about to commence. It is hoped to commence the sale of flats in the first blocks over the next few months.

During 1977, agreements were entered into with Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited for the development of the airspace above the old GPO site at the end of Chater Station and above

Admiralty Station. The development on the old GPO site will comprise a single tower block con- taining three floors of shops and 23 floors of

offices. At Admiralty, a twin tower block contain- ing 21 and 29 office floors will be constructed above a four-storey podium building containing four floors of shops. The building construction at GPO will commence in 1979 and be completed by December 1980. At Admiralty, building con- struction starts in late 1978 and the shopping podium is due to open in mid-1979 with the office towers completing in late 1980.

At GPO and Admiralty, it is the Corporation's intention to sell off the various floors of office space and thus make a further significant con- tribution towards the financing of the Railway.

Public Relations

A further year of progress with construction of the Railway can also be described as a further year of inconvenience suffered by the public of Hong Kong who either live or work adjacent to construction sites. Happily, as I have mentioned,

we have now entered the stage where the incon- venience is reducing, particularly the inconven-

ience to pedestrians and shopkeepers as station walls are completed and excavation commences.

The Corporation's Public Relations Department, together with the able assistance of City District

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派往倫敦運輸局再接受為期三月之訓練 包 括學習基本之車務管理方法及取得駕駛列車 與操縱訊號室之資格,熟悉車站各種職務及 熟習地下鐵路之一般環境。

.物業發展

本人在前面已提及,九龍灣住宅樓宇之 建造工程即將動工,希望在數月之後,第一 批樓宇單位即可開始發售。

一九七七年期間,本公司與長江實業有 限公司達成中環東站末端郵政總局舊址以及 金鐘站上之物業發展協議。在郵政總局舊址 處,將興建一座有三層商場及23曆寫字樓之 單塔形大廈。在金鐘站上,分別為21層及29 層高之雙塔形大廈將在四層高(內有四層商 場)之平台上興建。郵政總局舊址上之建築 工程將於一九七九年動工,在一九八零年十 二月落成。金鐘站處之樓宇建造工程,將於 一九七八年年底開始;用作購物商場之平台 將於一九七九年中啟用,而塔形寫字樓大廈

,則於一九八零年年底落成。

本公司擬將郵政總局舊址及金鐘站上之 各層寫字樓出售,為地下鐵路提供另一重大 資金來源。

公共關係

地下鐵路興建之第二年,對居住或工作 於施工地盤附近之市民來說,可稱為飽受不 便之第二年。正如本人所述,由於車站牆已 建造完成,挖掘工程亦已開始,今後對市民 尤其是對行人及店東所引致之不便,將可 逐漸減少。本公司公共關係部在各區民政主 任以及本公司與承建商所聘工程師之大力協 助下,繼續與市民保持聯絡,隨時告知有關 施工情况及盡量設法減少地下鐵路興建過程

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