residential use and 11 hectares for industrial develop- ment.
The cost to government of the development of the new town, excluding the race-course and private development, is estimated at November 1978 prices as HK$8,734 million. This includes HK$1,041 million on land acquisition, HK$3,878 million on engineering works, HK$2,232 million on public housing and HK$1,583 million on community facilities.
TUEN MUN
Tuen Mun takes its name from a fortification built there a thousand years ago.
The name itself suggests that the fort (tuen) was built on one of the channels (mun) between the major inlets now known as Castle Peak Bay and Deep Bay. Historians say such a channel would have been navigable in those times.
They believe the area was first settled between the years 330 A.D. and 590 A.D., and records show a Chinese garrison was sent to control it during the Tang Dynasty (618-906) because of its importance.
It was imperial policy from the Nam Han Dynasty (about 917-971) onwards to encourage soliders of garrisons in these parts to take up grants of local land and to settle on them after completing their military service.
The land they occupied was known as tuentin ("fortified field").
Until recently, Tuen Mun was known to most Hong Kong people by a latter-day name-Castle Peak, drawn from the 583-metre (1,912 ft) peak above the township and anchorage.
But in 1972 the area was once again officially given the name by which it had been known for centuries to sailors calling there on their way to and from Canton, the capital and major trading centre of Kwangtung Province.
Tuen Mun is situated in the western part of the New Territories mainland about 32 kilometres from the southern tip of Kowloon.
The development proposals envisage a new town covering an area of approximately 1180 hectares and a growth in the population from about 55,000 to an ultimate population of 540,000. Of this area about 280 hectares is designated for housing, both public and private, 125 hectares for "open space" and 315 hectares for industrial development. In addition an area of about 600 hectares to the south-east of Tuen Mun is being investigated as a possible extension to
the new town to augment the provision of further land for housing and other supporting facilities.
There is now a nucleus of industrial, commercial and residential establishment and building develop- ment continues to grow as formed land becomes available. The formation of about 130 hectares of land is in hand and on completion it would provide the base for further development.
The first stage of the new six-lane highway, 15.3 kilometres long and costing some HK$370 million commenced in October 1974, and, as scheduled, was completed in March 1978. The construction of the second stage is under way.
The total cost to government of the development of the new town is estimated at November 1978 prices as HK$7,138 million. About HK$2,266 million is to be used for engineering works, HK$2,630 mil- lion for public housing, HK$1,826 million for community facilities and HK$416 million for land acquisition. Sums of a similar amount will need to be invested by private enterprise in building private commercial and residential development, factories and warehouses.
TAI PO
Tai Po lies at the head of the north-western arm of Tolo Harbour, approximately 11 kilometres from Sha Tin town centre to which it will be linked by a new coastal trunk road, which will eventually be extended to Yuen Long.
The design population of the Tai Po area is 220,000, of whom some 170,000 would live within the Tai Po township. Three public housing estates to accommodate about 83,000 people are planned, while private residential areas are expected to house another 55,000. Existing residential areas have an estimated population capacity of 29,000 and develop- ment within the peripheral areas is expected to accommodate the balance of future population growth.
Several areas have been set aside in the plan for the development of light industries, while the Tai Po Industrial Estate, now under development, is intend- ed to cater for land/capital intensive industrial projects.
Over the 10-year development period, total expenditure in the public sector for the expension of Tai Po will be in the order of $2,560 million, at November 1978 prices: about HK$340 million on
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