ENG-1978 — Page 217

COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

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Local mail, which accounted for 52 per cent of the total volume of mail items handled, increased by 8.8 per cent. There was a sharp decline in surface parcel postings and a decrease of 44.7 per cent was recorded compared with 1977. This was attributable mainly to a drop in the number of parcels destined for China.

Approximately 1,200 tonnes of mail and 2,200 tonnes of parcels were despatched abroad by air during the year, representing increases of eight per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively.

A new service called the 'Rapid Box Delivery Service' was introduced. It offers fast delivery of items addressed to post office private boxes in the General Post Office and Kowloon Central and Tsim Sha Tsui Post Offices. Items posted in special posting boxes in these offices are delivered within the local office inside two hours.

Further progress was made on the $43 million International Mail Centre with the award, in April, of the contract for postal mechanisation. The centre, scheduled to open in 1980, will be the major mail processing unit in Hong Kong and will handle all international mail.

There were three issues of commemorative stamps in 1978. Two stamps were issued in January to commemorate the Lunar New Year - the Year of the Horse. This was the 12th in the series and completed the cycle of the Lunar New Year com- memorative stamps. In June two stamps were issued to mark the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of the Coronation. Two stamps were issued in November to mark the centenary of Po Leung Kuk, one of the oldest established charitable organisations in Hong Kong.

Agency services carried out by the Post Office on behalf of other government de- partments included the payment of social welfare benefits amounting to $17 million a month.

Telecommunications Services

The Postmaster General is the Telecommunications Authority in Hong Kong and administers the Telecommunications Ordinance, which governs the establishment and operation of all telecommunications services. He also acts as adviser to the gov- ernment on matters concerning the provision of public telecommunication services including internal and international telephone, telegraph, telex and data services, and the technical aspects of radio and television broadcasting.

The Post Office provides advisory and planning services for the electronic, radio and telephone requirements of government departments. During 1978, projects under- taken included a definitive transmission plan for VHF sound broadcasting services, a facsimile network for the Labour Department, and a territory-wide command and control network for the Fire Services Department. Installation and maintenance facilities are provided by two workshops in Kowloon and Hong Kong for radio and electronic equipment, including a large number of electro-medical items for the Medical and Health Department.

The Post Office issues the licences specified in the Telecommunications Ordinance and is responsible for ensuring that licensees comply with the stipulated conditions. Surveillance of the radio frequency bands is maintained in order to detect interference and illegal transmissions. Commencing in 1978, a study by consultants began to advise on the management and utilisation of the radio frequency spectrum.