ENG-1998 — Page 331

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Community and Public Relations

NAPCO produced press releases and promotional publications concerning the opening of the new airport and the completion of the ACP. Videos on the airport and the ACP were updated and a homepage on the ACP was maintained.

The Lantau Link View Point at north-west Tsing Yi which includes a Viewing Platform and a Visitors Centre continues to be well received by the public, attracting more than 875 300 visitors in 1998. Meanwhile, the ACP Exhibition Centre at Ting Kau remained popular, with more than 244 000 members of the public visiting it in the year.

Visits to and briefings on the ACP were given to a wide range of local and overseas guests, including members of the Executive Council, Legislative Council and Airport Consultative Committee; overseas government officials and parliamentary members; major business, professional and financial groups; consular representatives, and the news media.

Before the new airport was opened, the AA provided a wide range of programmes to cater for the immense local and international interest in it. In May and June, about 90 000 people visited the new airport through the 'New Airport Experience' programme jointly organised by the AA and the Community Chest to promote public awareness and familiarisation with the new airport and to raise funds for the Chest. A number of events were held for the Chest and other charities. The AA and the Chest jointly organised a dinner in the passenger terminal on April 25 to celebrate the completion of AA facilities. Proceeds from the AA's donation box programme, in which collection boxes are placed at strategic locations in the passenger terminal, benefits a number of leading charities. In September, the AA presented the Red Cross with more than $345,000 that had been donated by the public and AA staff for flood relief efforts in the Mainland.

Port Development

Hong Kong, one of the world's busiest container port, handled about 14.65 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in 1998. This represents an increase of some 0.6 per cent over 1997.

Handling this container cargo — and many other cargoes which come and go by means other than containers - added significantly to Hong Kong's economy. Studies by the government's Census and Statistics Department and Planning Department have indicated that port-related industrial and commercial enterprises contribute some 20 per cent towards Hong Kong's GDP and account for nearly 22 per cent of its workforce. Matching supply of port facilities with demand will, hence, ensure economic growth and optimise employment opportunities for the community. Growth forecasts are, therefore, important. A major review of the Port Cargo Forecasts is carried out every two years to ensure that these forecasts, which span up to 20 years ahead, are as accurate and up-to-date as possible.

The latest forecast, published in February 1998, predicted that by 2016 there would be a demand for Hong Kong to handle 33 million TEUS a year.

To cope with the long-term demand for port facilities, a completely new container port is being planned on Lantau Island. The actual growth in the port's throughput

263