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Several
waterfront location capable of berthing ocean-going vessels. multi-nationals and we have serious enquiries from them, primarily . from the chemical processing and storage industries, have sought and are continuing to seek sites. These industries, if located in Hong Kong, will not only provide vital raw materials, notably plastics, for Hong Kong's exporting industries, but also introduce knowledge and expertise in the use of new materials which can underpin Hong Kong's drive for. better quality, higher value products. The areas of land required are not small. A third industrial estate would have to be about 100 hectares in area and the demand for waterfront sites, as indicated by applications already made to either the Industry Department or Industrial Estate Corporation, would require the formation of about a further 100 hectares of waterfront land to enable us to meet meaningfully the future demands of the very land intensive industries. Unfortunately, land for such industries is not currently available and preliminary investigations indicate that such land can only be created through reclamation, a process which will take several years to complete. Both the Secretary for Lands and Works and the Secretary for Trade and Industry recognise the importance of this issue and are giving high priority to their administra- tive processes required to enable the formation of such land to proceed as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Yet, the bureaucratic machinery
is constraints are still cumbersome and we may well need to respond more
swiftly to potential demands of this nature for foreign and local investors alike. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon us, the fegislature, le.
to make sure that the two Policy Secretaries and their Departments are allocated sufficient resources for the job.
lc.
Finally, Sir, it must not be forgotten that the Joint Declaration places limits on the amount of land which can be disposed of in any one year. There would thus be a need, if the demand for industrial land is to be met efficiently, to seek the agreement of the Land Commission at the
If we believe in the merits appropriate time, the earlier the better. of vigorous diversification and broadening of our industrial base, we must move with speed to iron out administrative restraints and all the other difficulties involved. The capital investment involved admittedly
finge will be hugh, but it will be well worth it for our future.
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