ENG-1964 — Page 200

PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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In addition to these specific projects there is a continuous pro- gramme of mainlaying and service reservoir construction to meet the needs of new development. This also includes the provision of salt-water for flushing in new development areas. The needs of expanding New Territories towns are also being met. A scheme has been prepared to provide filtered water from the Plover Cove scheme to Tai Po and Sheung Shui. A contract was let for the site formation of the filter site and quotations were invited for a six million gallon a day filtration plant. Improvements were also carried out on the traditional irrigation systems of the New Terri- tories, and new works were constructed to improve the supplies. During the year 44,000 feet of irrigation channels were lined with concrete to reduce seepage and 800 feet of new channel and 56 diversion dams_were constructed.

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The quality of the water supplied was maintained at the same high standard as in previous years and the few sub-standard samples were traced to violations of the Waterworks Ordinance or to the carelessness of consumers. Though cholera was again present in the Colony, no case could be attributed to the disease being borne by the water supplied by the Waterworks.

BUILDINGS

The programme of public building, meeting urgent needs and reflecting the general building boom, continued unabated this year. A large number of public buildings of various sizes and types were completed and construction was in progress on many others. For the first time the provision of funds in one year for expenditure on new government buildings exceeded $200 million; as in pre- vious years the programme was helped forward by the work of private architects and private quantity surveyors. Because of the heavy rains following a long period of exceptionally low rainfall, a number of difficulties occurred in site works; building costs continued to rise mainly because of the rising labour rates.

The programme of Government Resettlement and Low-Cost Housing progressed vigorously and during the year 104 eight-storey resettlement blocks providing domestic rooms for over 130,000 people were completed. Four flatted factories at San Po Kong and Cheung Sha Wan were under construction providing a total