ENG-1975 — Page 129

88

LAND AND HOUSING

place in the new towns. Their development is controlled by the New Territories Development Department.

New Towns

For many years, flat land for development in Hong Kong has been formed cutting platforms into hill slopes, and using the excavated material to fill nearby low- lying land and shallow seabed to form further flat land. This method is being applied in the development of new towns.

At Kwun Tong, to the east of the Kowloon peninsula, development which has been taking place since 1955 is now almost completed, covering an area of 394 hectares. It will accommodate about half a million people on full development. While land formation and the provision of water, roads and drainage has been a government responsibility, building development has been shared with private enterprise. Public housing now accommodates about 340,000 people and private buildings about 80,000. Local industry in Kwun Tong employs about 105,000 workers.

The long-term housing programme to be carried out by the Housing Authority provides for about half of the new public housing in the New Territories to be built in the three new towns of Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun (Castle Peak) and Sha Tin, and in old townships such as Tai Po and Yuen Long. The new towns will gradually be developed as balanced communities with public and private housing, employment and community facilities to minimise traffic within and between the towns.

Tsuen Wan new town, northwest of Kowloon, has been developed for residential and industrial uses since the early fifties and has now grown to more than half of its ultimate planned size with a population of almost 500,000 in a formed area of 951 hectares. The full population capacity of the new town is 860,000. One major area to the north of the existing development is planned to provide housing for 120,000 people in a 182-hectare area, together with 17 hectares for industrial development. Another area being developed is Tsing Yi Island, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge. The population of Tsing Yi is expected to grow from 9,000 to 165,000, and the island will form an integral part of the new town. It will, however, have all the facilities required to make it a self-contained community, while also providing a number of sites suitable for heavy industry needing sea access.

At Tuen Mun new town, on the west side of the New Territories, the bulk of the engineering work for Stage IA development has been completed, providing a total land area of 93 hectares and a population capacity of 55,000. The first public housing estate, San Fat estate, has also been completed, providing homes for 11,000 people. Construction of the second estate-Tai Hing estate Phase I, to provide homes for another 29,000-is well advanced. Most of the 21 hectares of industrial land produced in Stage IA has already been sold and is at various stages of development by private industrialists. Engineering work on Stage IB has commenced, including the construction of a road connecting Tuen Mun Road Stage I, now under construc- tion, with the new town. The development area of the new town covers 1100 hectares with a population capacity of 486,000 people.