TNAG-2145-FCO40-3064-Hong-Kong-Port-and-Airport-Development-Strategy-(PADS)-1990 — Page 103

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

12

26.

Secondly, We must

distinguish

and capital expenditure.

between recurrent

The prime need, even without the

This means

decision to build the airport, is to keep recurrent expenditure growth to a reasonable level.

controlling the size of the civil service, and increasing productivity. To provide a little reassurance I should add

that it will nevertheless still be possible to make some provision for new or improved services, partly by carrying out some existing activities more cost-effectively.

27.

new

On the capital expenditure front it is, of course, true that we are giving priority to airport core projects, and that We will have to be particularly prudent over programmes with significant capital expenditure

implications. But it is important to keep

to keep this

perspective. We have allowed for commitments in other

this in

areas too, such as education, social services, the

areas

is

environment, watex supply and new town development. Capital expenditure on non-airport programme

projected to be a massive $140 billion at 1990 prices in

the period up to 1997.

28.

as

What does all this mean for our public finances

over the next six to seven years? Clearly we will,

capital expenditure builds up and peaks over this period,

face a few years of budgetary deficits. This is to be

expected, and is precisely one of the reasons why we have

built up such considerable reserves. Drawing

these

reserves to pay for infrastructural investments which

allow the continued growth of our economy and the continued

prosperity of Hong Kong is to some extent inevitable.

will

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