ENG-1978 — Page 220

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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

1979 and the second stage, providing a similar number of spaces, will be finished by late 1980. Piling and site formation work were completed late in the year on a flyover for east-bound traffic from Prince Edward Road to service the airport at the depar- tures level, and work on the superstructure began immediately.

Radar facilities were improved by the introduction of a new long-range surveillance radar capable of detecting the position of aircraft 200 nautical miles away and at altitudes of up to 18,300 metres. Collocated with an existing radar station on Mount Parker, the new radar provides information to the Air Traffic Control Centre on aircraft within Hong Kong's area of responsibility.

A project to provide new aids and to improve airfield lighting started in the second half of the year. It includes the installation of a taxi-track guidance signs system, additional taxi-track stop-bars, parking bay illuminated number signs and apron floodlight control, as well as a visual display unit micro-processor system at the control tower. These various aids will facilitate the smooth operation and control of aircraft on the ground.

Further development of Hong Kong International Airport beyond the current phase of expansion, to be completed in 1981, is seriously restricted by operational constraints imposed by the nature of the surrounding terrain, the close proximity of urban areas and the lack of land. Examination of the practicability of providing a replacement airport at Chek Lap Kok Island near Lantau Island is in progress; the next step is the development by consultants of a conceptual airport layout plan to include the configuration of runways, taxi-ways, buildings and approach zones.

Shipping

Hong Kong's harbour is one of the busiest in the world and it has earned a world-wide reputation for the way in which it caters for the requirements of modern shipping. Victoria Harbour, which lies between Hong Kong Island and the city of Kowloon, is one of the three most perfect natural harbours in the world. It has an area of 6,000 hectares varying in width from 1.6 to 9.6 kilometres.

The administration of the port is one of the responsibilities of the Director of Marine. To ensure that port facilities and services continue to develop with the changing needs of Hong Kong and of the ships which use the port, the director is advised on its administration by the Port Committee and the Port Executive Com- mittee, through which the closest liaison with Hong Kong's shipping and commercial interests is maintained.

The Kwai Chung Container Terminal, which ranks among the top four container terminals in the world, handled the equivalent of 1.26 million twenty-foot containers in 1978. The terminal has six berths totalling more than 1,800 metres fronting on to about 60 hectares of cargo handling space, which includes container yards and con- tainer freight stations. Six 'third generation' containerships can be accommodated and worked simultaneously at these berths, all of which are operated by private companies or consortia.

In 1978, some 8,900 ocean-going vessels called at Hong Kong and loaded and discharged more than 23.7 million tonnes of cargo. This included 17.8 million tonnes of general goods, 49 per cent of which was containerised cargo.