ENG-1988 — Page 239

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, Tai Po, Fanling, Yuen Long and Junk Bay, have to date accommo- dated nearly two million people. Major land formation works for the latest new town at Tin Shui Wai have also started which will have a population of 140 000. On completion of the new town programme by the end of the 1990s, a population of 3.5 million can be accommodated in the new towns.

To ensure proper co-ordination of the planning and implementation of development works the Territory Development Department is constituted on a multi-disciplinary basis and includes professional officers with expertise in civil engineering, town planning, architecture and landscaping. It works closely with other government departments such as the Housing Department for the implementation of the public housing programme, and the City and New Territories Administration, Urban Services Department and Regional Services Department in fostering the growth of new well-balanced communities.

The private sector also plays a major role in the provision of private housing develop- ments and facilities within the new towns and rural township.

Sha Tin

Since the inception of the new town development programme in 1973, the population in Sha Tin New Town has grown from 30 000 to 500 000. The population is expected to reach 700 000, by the mid-1990s, about 44 per cent of whom will be in public housing, 17 per cent in Home Ownership and Private Sector Participation Schemes and the remainder in private housing.

With the increasing daily commuting needs of the town's residents to other areas, every effort is made to improve the external transport links. Construction of the Route 5 road tunnel linking Sha Tin with Tsuen Wan, is underway and is expected to be completed in early 1990. Construction of the Tate's Cairn Tunnel by a private consortium also began during the year. It will provide an additional traffic link to East Kowloon by late 1991. Sai Sha Road, the road link between Ma On Shan and Sai Kung was completed in 1988.

In Ma On Shan, engineering contracts for further reclamation, land formation and provision of infrastructure are underway. Detailed land use planning proposals for the new development areas are being finalised.

To alleviate the water pollution problem in the Shing Mun River and Tolo Harbour, design started for the marine disposal of sludges from the Sha Tin Water Treatment and Sewage Treatment Works as well as the process modification of the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works to increase nutrient removal.

Tsuen Wan

Since the post-war years Tsuen Wan New Town, which includes Kwai Chung, Tsuen Wan and Tsing Yi, has expanded rapidly into a busy township housing almost 700 000 people. Completion of the major developments in the early 1990s will increase the population to 800 000 and create job opportunities for 400 000 workers in the industrial sector.

The development of Tsing Yi Island has been dramatic and work on the large housing estates in the north-eastern part of the island, which will provide homes for 43 000 people, is well advanced. The Ching Tai Court Home Ownership Scheme completed at the end of 1988 will house a further 5 500 people. In addition, site formation in the southern half of the island for land-intensive port-related industries was completed.

Kwai Chung contains the world's busiest container terminal, which is under further extension by reclamation. Container Terminals 6 and 7 when completed in late 1989 and mid-1991 will provide additional areas of 29 hectares and 31 hectares respectively. To meet