ENG-1986 — Page 206

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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A major contribution continues to be made by the private sector in a wide range of privately financed housing developments and facilities.

Tsuen Wan

Since its birth in the post-war years as an industrial satellite of urban Kowloon, Tsuen Wan has grown to a thriving township housing almost 700 000 people. When all major developments are completed in the early 1990s the new town will have a population of about 800 000 with job opportunities for 280 000 workers in the industrial sector.

The town contains the Kwai Chung container terminal which is being further expanded by reclamation.

Development on Tsing Yi Island is now progressing rapidly and it is here that the major increase in population in the next few years is to be accommodated mainly in large public housing estates. On the southern and western parts of the island site formation is in progress for specialist and land-intensive industries.

Transport continues to be a matter of prime importance in the new town. There is already severe congestion on the single bridge connecting the island to the mainland but the completion of the Tsing Yi North Bridge by late 1987 will improve access and promote rapid development on the island. Work has already started on the Route 5 road tunnel to Sha Tin and several large road improvement schemes are to start in the town to provide connections from this highway to other major roads and to the container terminal. These include the New Container Port Road and the flyover across Castle Peak Road.

To meet the needs of the expanding population, there is an extensive programme to provide additional park and recreational facilities. Work on Kwai Chung park on the completed Gin Drinker's Bay controlled tip has started.

It is hoped that innovative recreational facilities can be incorporated which will make this park a regional attraction. Plans have been drawn up to relocate the Yeung Uk Sportsground, which is near the town centre, to an area in the Shing Mun valley to form the nucleus of a major sports and recreation complex.

It is proposed that land from the relocation of the Yeung Uk Sportsground and from the Tsuen Wan Bay reclamation will be used for a modern commercial/residential development which will revitalise the town centre and provide the catalyst for redevelopment of the older, congested buildings. Redevelopment of some of the older public housing estates has already begun to provide better living conditions and environment for the residents.

A study is in progress to formulate improvement and expansion plans for existing villages in the green belt area of the foothills, to the north of Tsuen Wan. Proposals will be made to reduce pollution in the streams and to examine the recreational potential of the area.

Sha Tin

The population in Sha Tin has increased by about 100 000 to 400 000 in the past year and is expected to reach 750 000 by the mid-1990s. Housing development, both in the public and private sector, continued apace but the progress on industrial development was not in keeping with the rapid expansion of the town population, although industrial land was available.

In Ma On Shan, which is an extension of Sha Tin, engineering work for the reclamation, land formation and the provision of infrastructure was at its peak. The development potential for Ma On Shan has been reviewed to take into account a proposed additional road link from Sha Tin to Kowloon through Tate's Cairn. Based on the recommendations