ENG-1980 — Page 241

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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

still achieve its target of delivering most local mail within 24 hours of posting. As an im- provement to the mail delivery in the rural areas, door-to-door delivery has now been ex- tended to 331 villages in the New Territories.

cent

During 1980, the Post Office handled an average of more than one million letters and

per parcels each day; the total for the year (398 million) represented an increase of 8.2 over 1979. Local mail increased by 14.7 per cent while outward surface mail was the only category of traffic to show a sharp decrease. Due mainly to the decline in the number of parcels and small packets posted to China, the number of outward surface items dropped 12 per cent compared with 1979.

Air mail traffic continued to increase and each day the Post Office handled an average of 22 tonnes of mail at Hong Kong International Airport. More than 5,100 tonnes of mail was despatched by air and over 2,800 tonnes of air mail was received from abroad - representing increases of 21.4 per cent and 12.5 per cent, respectively, over 1979. A purpose-built Air Mail Centre, designed to cope with the increased traffic levels, is under construction at the airport.

Eighteen countries were served by Speedpost and new traffic records were established during the year. In addition to the formerly established links with Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Japan, Kuwait, Macau, the Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States, the service was extended to China, the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada. The increase of 84,700 items (up 64.7 per cent) over the quantity handled in 1979 reflected the continued popularity of this speedy and reliable service.

Philatelic sales also continued to increase and sales of first-day covers, which previously averaged 200,000 covers for each special issue, doubled in 1980. There were three special stamp issues. Three stamps issued in May were based on the theme 'Hong Kong's Rural Architecture' and depicted the Tsui Shing Lau Pagoda, the Ching Chung Koon temple and a typical village house. In August, a single stamp was issued to commemorate the 80th birthday of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. This stamp formed part of an omnibus issue involving similar stamps being released by 12 dependent territories in all. The third special issue was released in November with 'Hong Kong's Parks' as its theme. It comprised four stamps depicting the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Ocean Park, Kowloon Park and Country Parks.

Agency services carried out by the Post Office on behalf of other government departments included the payment of social welfare benefits amounting to $15 million a month.

Telecommunications Services

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

To ensure that the radio frequency spectrum is utilised effectively, the Post Office licenses, under the Telecommunication Ordinance, all forms of radio communication within Hong. Kong. It maintains surveillance of the radio frequency bands to detect illegal transmissions and interference emanating from sources within and around the territory. It also conducts inspections of ships' radio stations to ensure compliance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea.