ENG-2001 — Page 276

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

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people, approximately 68 per cent of whom live in public rental and subsidised housing developments which comprise 15 public rental estates and 25 home ownership and private sector participation scheme developments. The new town will house about 628 000 people by mid-2002. The construction of Road T3, which will connect with Route 9 to West Kowloon, is planned to start in 2003 for completion in 2007.

Since 1981, development works of the Sha Tin new town have been extended to Ma On Shan. Work on the primary road link to Ma On Shan Town Centre is scheduled for completion in 2002. Five public housing estates/Home Ownership Scheme projects. are under construction. The construction of Trunk Road T7, which will bypass the Town Centre, started in January for completion in 2004.

The programme to improve conditions in the old villages in and around Sha Tin will continue. An afforestation programme to restore the eroded areas in the hills behind the new town has been extended for completion in 2003. About 4.5 million trees have been planted in these areas in recent years.

Tuen Mun

Tuen Mun new town, in the western New Territories, is developed mainly on land reclaimed from Castle Peak Bay and on platforms formed in the valley between Castle Peak and the Tai Lam Hills. It covers a total development area of about 1 900 hectares.

About 70 per cent of the new town's present 506 000 people live in public housing developments, which include public rental estates, home ownership and private sector participation schemes. Construction of housing flats at Fu Tei and Po Tin has been completed. Feasibility studies and detailed design for more housing developments in north Tuen Mun, near the Castle Peak Hospital, is under way. The new town's population is forecast to rise to about 565 000 in 2010.

The KCRC West Rail will have two stations in Tuen Mun new town, each with its own public transport interchange facilities. Residential and commercial components are also proposed above the future Tuen Mun Centre Station.

In south-west Tuen Mun, the River Trade Terminal operates as a consolidation point for containers and bulk cargoes shipped between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta ports. The second phase of reclamation for special industrial use is under way for completion in 2005. To cater for the increasing traffic demand in association with these developments, the Foothills Bypass is being constructed for completion in early 2002.

In 2001, the TDD implemented an afforestation programme to restore the eroded hill slopes in the green belt areas at the urban fringe of the western part of Tuen Mun. About 240 000 trees were planted in this afforestation programme.

Tai Po

Tai Po has grown from a small market town of 25 000 in 1974 into a new town with a population of 287 000 on about 1 270 hectares of land. The anticipated population on full development is 306 000. The new town is well developed with the major infrastructure in place.

The feasibility study for the Pak Shek Kok development area completed in August 1998 identified the development of a Science Park and residential and recreation uses.