ENG-1991 — Page 245

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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compared with the population of 1990. The thinning out of population in Tsuen Wan is in line with the planning intention of Metroplan.

The Kwai Chung Container Terminal is sited within the boundary of the new town. Development rights for Container Terminal 8 were awarded to a consortium of terminal operators in March 1991 with commencement of construction works later in the year. Upon completion in mid-1995, Container Terminal 8 will increase Hong Kong's container handling capacity by about 30 per cent. A feasibility study for Container Terminal 9 at south-east Tsing Yi has also been carried out.

On Tsing Yi Island, the remaining reclamation at Tsing Yi Bay was completed, providing a site for a sports ground and swimming pool complex, construction of which is programmed to start in 1993. Traffic conditions along Kwai Chung Road corridor have been vastly improved with the completion and opening of the Kwai Chung Road flyover and the Castle Peak Road/Kwai Chung Road interchange. Major road improvement works to Kwai Chung Road south, Container Port Road, Texaco Road and Kwan Mun Hau Street have been progressing satisfactorily.

The completion of Tak Wah Street Park Phase I and the district open space fronting the Riviera Garden have further enhanced the provision of recreational facilities in Tsuen Wan Town Centre. The forthcoming opening of Tso Kung Tam outdoor recreation centre will provide dormitories for overnight campers in addition to recreational facilities. The major community facilities completed in Tsing Yi during the year include a sub-divisional fire station, a community hall in Cheung Hang Estate and an indoor recreation centre in Tsing Yi Estate.

Sha Tin

The development of Sha Tin has reached a relatively advanced stage with much of the remaining works concentrated in Ma On Shan. Works carried out during 1991 aimed at complementing and enhancing the infrastructure and providing community facilities to cater for a population which will increase from the present 570 000 to around 700 000 upon full development by the end of the 1990s with 64 per cent of the population living in public housing.

Tate's Cairn Tunnel and the Sha Tin approaches were opened to traffic in June 1991 providing a road link between East Kowloon and the North East New Territories, while traffic congestion on Lion Rock Tunnel Road was further relieved.

In Ma On Shan, the final reclamation contract to provide 23 hectares of land commenced at the end of 1990 and construction of the future town centre progressed satisfactorily.

Regarding pollution control, facilities for the marine disposal of sludge collected from both the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works and Water Treatment Works have been completed, thereby significantly reducing pollution in Shing Mun River. Modification of the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works which aimed at improving the water quality in Tolo Harbour was completed at the end of 1991; a further improvement scheme by exporting the effluent to Kai Tak Nullah is being constructed.

To keep pace with the increased population, community projects completed in 1991 included a primary school, four secondary schools, a district police station and an urban clinic. Construction of another primary school, a neighbourhood community centre, a fire station with an ambulance depot-cum-training school, a public leisure pool and a district