ENG-1980 — Page 211

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Public Works and Utilities

程?

雪呀

A

KOH

THE government's largest single category of expenditure is normally that of public works. This covers the formation and reclamation of land, port and airport works, roads, sewers, bridges and tunnels, the supply and distribution of water, and the construction of public buildings.

For the financial year 1980–1, approved provision of funds for capital works was $3,359 million, some 18 per cent of the government's total expenditure. Of this sum, $563 million was to be spent on roads, $314 million on water supplies and $64 million on public housing constructed by the Public Works Department (PWD) in addition to that built by the Housing Authority.

Geotechnical Control

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During the year, the Geotechnical Control Office of the PWD was expanded by the forma- tion of a Design Section and an Engineering Geology Section, which completed major geotechnical studies on four areas.

Detailed investigation of the stability of slopes throughout the territory continued and checks were made on the design of new slopes associated with the construction of all major government engineering and building projects. Preventive works on 12 fill slopes in the urban area were satisfactorily completed and contracts were let at the start of the 1980-1 dry season for works on a further 16 fill slopes.

Some 104,000 tests were made on various construction materials by the PWD materials testing laboratory and 40,000 metres of borehole was drilled in the seven site investigations that were being carried out during the year.

Quarrying

The quarrying industry's total production of aggregates for the year amounted to 13,476,500 tonnes, including both fine and coarse aggregates. In addition to the two government- operated quarries, eight contract quarries and one rock-crushing facility were in operation. The government-operated quarries supplied 444,380 tonnes of aggregates and 149,660 tonnes of bituminous products for use in government projects during the year. One of the new contract quarries, established in 1978, completed the installation of its main crushing plant and the opening ceremony was performed by the Director of Public Works in April, 1980. The demand for aggregates has continued to increase and further investigations will be carried out to identify potential sites for future quarries.

During the year, 1,039,000 cubic metres of fine marine dredged sand was imported for use by the building industry and a smaller quantity of river sand was also imported from China.