ENG-1959 — Page 23

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

to cover all such housing. The Department, in conjunction with the Public Works Department, is already considering suitable designs, which will probably be in the form of single rooms with communal facilities.

Lastly, we must return to where we started and again consider the all-important question of building sites in land-hungry Hong Kong. As has already been explained, the catastrophe of the 1953 fire provided the first sites for development and these were shortly extended by a process of decanting into the new resettlement estates: but there comes a limit to this process, and the Govern- ment has long recognized that other courses must be adopted when natural sites can no longer be found. If no land is otherwise available, land must be made; and accordingly the Government asked Consulting Engineers to report on the feasibility of rec- lamation schemes at Kwai Chung, Sha Tin, Castle Peak Bay, Tai Po and Junk Bay. The Consulting Engineers submitted their reports on these schemes during 1959, and the Government chose to proceed as quickly as possible with the Kwai Chung scheme in association with reclamation work at the adjacent town of Tsuen Wan which has developed considerably in recent years. This scheme will provide some 400 acres of new land at an estimated cost of $96 million inclusive of the necessary services, and, when completed, the general area should be able to contain a population of some 175,000 persons.

The housing programme outlined above, together with the ex- tensive programme of commercial and industrial expansion which private enterprise is simultaneously undertaking, undoubtedly constitutes a total development effort of which any city can justly be proud; more particularly when the Government has so far been able to meet the capital cost without outside aid or public bor- rowing. But the more important question is, is the effort sufficient? Is Hong Kong ahead of the problem or is it still, in spite of these efforts, lagging behind it? This is a difficult question to answer confidently largely because of the lack of clear criteria. Neverthe- less, while admitting the dangers of such generalizations it is possible to say with some confidence rehousing is taking place (including planned rehousing) at an annual rate of about 4-5% of the population. At this rate, and taking into account the low average age, Hong Kong is not markedly losing ground at present