TNAG-1604-FCO40-2211-Future-of-Hong-Kong-annual-reports-to-Parliament-on-Hong-Kon-1988 — Page 40

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towns should come to around 3 million.

(a)

Urban Development and Renewal

60. Since the mid-1970s over a half of the Hong Kong Government's

capital expenditure has been devoted to the new towns. From now on,

however, more attention will be given to improving the environment

of some of the older and more overcrowded parts of the urban area

around the harbour, which currently has a population of some

3 million and contains many of the centres of employment. This process will be assisted by the programme for new harbour

reclamations already mentioned. A key role will be played by a new statutory Land Development Corporation which will be responsible for

acquiring property and undertaking re-development schemes, either on

its own or jointly with other developers.

(e)

61.

Transport

In Hong Kong, with its crowded population and rapid economic

development, considerable resources have to be devoted to expanding

and improving the transport infrastructure in order to accommodate

the steadily increasing demand for the movement of people and goods.

This has been a major preoccupation of the Hong Kong Government for

more than twenty years. In recent years considerable sums have been

spent on developing the strategic road network which is still being

built. This links all parts of the urban area and all the New Towns

and will include substantial border crossings into China. Included

in the network will be a new route from Hong Kong Island to the

North East New Territories, passing through the Eastern Harbour

Crossing (tunnel), now being built by a private consortium at an

estimated cost of HK$ 3.4 billion; a by-pass round the industrial

area of Kwun Tong; and a further tunnel under Tate's Cairn to Sha

Tin, also to be built by the private sector. A new road (Route 5)

is also being constructed, largely in tunnel, between Sha Tin and

Tsuen Wan and will provide an alternative route to the container

port.

62.

The major railway works undertaken over the last decade on

the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and the Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR)

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