(a) The airport
35. Good progress was made on the new airport and related infrastructure projects in the course of 1990. A number of engineering, feasibility and financial studies were commissioned and some of the first work contracts were also let. A Provisional Airport Authority was established in April to take forward planning and development. This would be replaced by the Airport Authority proper in late 1991 or early 1992. In October 1990, the Hong Kong Government announced that they would finance the building of the Lantau Fixed Crossing linking the airport with urban Kowloon. This Crossing comprises two major structures, one of which, the Tsing Ma Bridge, will rank amongst the world's foremost suspension bridges.
36. The Government and the Hong Kong Government have sought to encourage the Chinese Government to support the project. During Mr Francis Maude's visit to Peking in July the Chinese Prime Minister, Mr Li Peng, acknowledged that Hong Kong needed a new airport but made it clear that the Chinese Government could not give a substantive view until their own experts had assessed the feasibility of the project. A team of Chinese experts visited Hong Kong in October for a detailed briefing on the project's financial and technical aspects.
(b) The Port
37. To ensure that the port of Hong Kong provides the facilities necessary to maintain and enhance the Territory's world trading position, the Hong Kong Government commissioned a number of studies to forecast demand for port infrastructure and to translate these into development programmes. The Port Development Board was established in August 1990 and is studying all aspects of the programme. A new container terminal began full operation in November and planning is well advanced for the timely provision of two more terminals. Further port development has been planned for the western waters of the Territory and will be the subject of detailed development studies beginning in early 1991, which will take port planning well into the next century.
X.
General Social Conditions
38. There were significant developments on four fronts in the Territory's medical and health services. These were hospital services, primary health care, Chinese medicine, and the establishment of an Academy of Medicine.
39. The statutory Hospital Authority was established on 1 December. It will take over the management and control of public hospitals in 1991, with a view to improving the quality and efficiency in the delivery of hospital services. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Government are examining the feasibility of developing medical insurance so as to promote greater freedom of choice for patients.
40. The working party set up in August 1989 to review Hong Kong's primary health care services presented its report in December 1990. It recommended a wide range of measures to improve the quality of primary health care, building on the existing infrastructure. The Hong Kong Government are studying these proposals and will be consulting the public around the middle of 1991. Another working party set up at the same time to study the use and practice of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong continued its deliberations throughout the year. It will make an interim report before the summer of 1991.
41. A Preparatory Committee was appointed to plan and prepare for the formation of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, which will be responsible for organising and supervising post-graduate and continuing medical education and the accreditation of specialist status. The aim is that the Academy should come into being in 1991.
42. The most significant event in the welfare field during 1990 was probably the publication, for the purpose of public consultation, of a draft White Paper on social welfare policies for the 1990s and beyond. Following a three month consultation period, the White Paper is due to be published in March 1991. Similarly, the policies and services for the
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