ENG-1986 — Page 211

174

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

Major projects completed during 1986 included the Shatin Cultural Complex, incor- porating a 1 450-seat auditorium with extensive stage facilities, orchestra pit and acoustic treatment which make it suitable for large scale orchestral, opera, dance and theatre performances. The complex also includes a three-storey library block of 3 500 square metres providing adult and junior lending areas, study rooms, reference/viewing/listening libraries and exhibition space, which serves as the central library for the region. A marriage registry, restaurants and shops form part of the development which is connected by outdoor terraces to the Shatin Town Park.

The District Court and Magistracy Building in Harbour Road, Wan Chai, was completed towards the end of the year. This distinctive 28-storey building reprovisions the Causeway Bay Magistracy, and the Kowloon and Victoria District Courts and provides 39 courtrooms on the lower floors catering for several distinct types of legal proceedings including District and Magistrates Courts, Juvenile and Family Courts, Small Claims Court, and Land and Labour Tribunals. The upper 14 floors of the building provide 27 000 square metres of office space which is shared by six government departments.

Expansion of medical facilities in Hong Kong continued in 1986 with significant progress being maintained on the 1 600-bed Tuen Mun Hospital, due for completion in 1988. Work on the adjacent Nurses' Training School and Quarters, due for completion by late 1988, was well underway. Work on the Laundry Block will begin early in 1987, to be completed at the same time. This is believed to be the largest hospital project currently under construction in the world, but will soon be overtaken by the new Eastern Hospital at Chai Wan. Formation work on the $1,300 million project on a site overlooking Chai Wan Bay was completed at the turn of the year and was quickly followed by work on foundations and substructure. The hospital will serve the whole Eastern District of Hong Kong and will provide 1 750 beds in the Main Block. The development will include a polyclinic, pathology and special blocks, a School of Psychiatric Nursing and staff quarters. Superstructure work will begin early in 1988 and the full project is scheduled for completion in late 1991.

In addition to these two very large projects, work is continuing on the second phase of the extension of Queen Mary Hospital to provide new facilities for paediatric and psychiatric patients as well as various other medical units. Phase three, involving extensions and alterations to staff quarters and extensive functional alterations to the main buildings, began in October and is due for completion in 1992. The existing wards will then be upgraded to provide a total of 2 000 beds by 1994. Design work was at an advanced stage for the Shatin Convalescent/Infirmary Hospital, the first of its type in Hong Kong, which is due to begin early in 1987, and will provide 700 beds to supplement the existing Prince of Wales Hospital.

With regard to recreation and cultural facilities, apart from the Shatin Cultural Complex, a similar development in Tuen Mun progressed well during the year and will be completed in early 1987.

Construction of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, due for completion in late 1987, also continued, reaching the level of the suspended cable roof by the middle of the year. Foundation work for the new Museum of Art will begin on an adjacent site in early 1987. The notable recreation project completed in 1986 was the new Hong Kong Squash Centre in Victoria Barracks, which provides 18 courts, including one of inter- national standard.

Expansion work on the Passenger Terminal at Kai Tak Airport progressed throughout the year, despite problems associated with airport security and the need to keep the airport fully operational at all times. To facilitate alterations to existing buildings, certain parts of