ENG-1965 — Page 23

REVIEW

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125 feet long attached to a concrete foundation extending across the bed of the Tai Po River between two side walls. It works like a giant tyre, filled half with water and half with air, and can be raised or deflated as conditions demand.

Twenty-two miles of cable were laid to enable four pumping stations at widely scattered points in the New Territories to be operated by remote control from the Sha Tin treatment works. The 'Biarritz', claimed to be the biggest mudgrab in the world, began digging a huge trench on the bed of Plover Cove to make a firm foundation for the dam. A 24-mile tunnel to carry water into the reservoir from Nam Chung and Ha Tsat Muk Kiu was holed through.

After the drought of 1963-4 the subject of water is never absent for very long from most people's minds and there was general satisfaction "when it was announced that, in addition to the huge Plover Cove scheme, Hong Kong had begun receiving water from the East River under a new agreement with China. Under the agreement, the Colony will receive 15,000 million gallons annually compared with 5,000 million gallons received under an earlier agreement. Hong Kong will pay for the supply at the rate of $1.06 per 1,000 gallons.

Two other projects that also will change the landscape in the New Territories were announced during the year. These were plans to establish two new cities at Sha Tin and Castle Peak, each with an ultimate population of one million. It is estimated that the total cost of engineering works for both schemes, if carried out as planned, will be in the order of $1,310 million. In view of this large outlay, the government will commit itself to expenditure only as the actual basic needs arise and each stage of development will be as limited and self-contained as practicable. The schemes involve the develop- ment, including reclamation, of 1,716 acres of land at Sha Tin and 1,041 acres at Castle Peak.

A subject which rightly continues to exercise inquiring minds both within and outside Hong Kong is the drug traffic and it is therefore particularly gratifying to be able to report that the first quarter of 1965 was the most successful period for the Narcotics Bureau since it was formed 10 years ago. More than 2,550 kilogrammes of dan- gerous drugs were seized. The quantity of opium seized during the