This book was. a gift from

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3 UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG LIBRARY This book was. a gift from Public *orks Dept. Hong Kong

4 INTRODUCTION The Background 2 Room to Grow 2 Meeting the Challenge 4 THE BEGINNINGS 6 THE SETTING Existing Settlements 8 Resumption and Clearance 8 IMPLEMENTATION Project Team Approach Role of the N.T.D.D. and P.W.D. Targets and Staging The Package Concept Five Year Programme for Sha Tin New Town INQUIRIES about the new town... THE TOWN PLAN MAPS AND DIAGRAMS Shaping a Community 2 Map Location of New Towns Guidelines for Land Use 4 Map 2 Sha Tin New Town Guidelines to the Environment 4 M 3_ Ph ical Re ii e f_sha Tin Area Conserving the Landscape 4,,, ~, T JTT Recreation 4 Map 4-General Land Use Map 5 Land Formation Programme HOUSING M a p 6 Main Communications Education 6 Map 7 Leisure Areas Medical Care 6,,, 0 ~, - ^ TT^, Map 8 Packages for Stage I Development EMPLOYMENT AND INDUSTRY 8 Map 9 Planning Areas COMMUNICATIONS 20 Ma P 0 Residential Zones SERVICES **;!- r d - U8? KV, ^ Water Supply 22 Flg * 2 - Housi *g (public/private) Sewerage.22 S- 3 Housing (Sha Tin/Hong Kong) Storm Water 22 Fig. 4 Residential Zones Public Utilities 22 Fig. 5 Population ,24,26.26 // environmental standards are to improve, the bulk of new housing must be provided in the new towns in the New Territories... For such a programme to succeed and to be acceptable to the potential inhabitants, three things seem to me essential. First, good communications with the old urban areas... Secondly, the housing in the new towns must be accompanied by a full ration of what is essential to modern life: medical, and secondary as well as primary educational facilities, parks and playgrounds, police stations, markets, fire and ambulance stations, community centres and much else. Thirdly, there must be work, and so sites for private commercial and residential development. These towns in fact must be built as a whole 77 H.E. the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, G.B.E., K.C.M.G., K.C.V.O. announcing the new housing plan in the Legislative Council, 8th October, 972. All sums of money mentioned in the text are in Hong Kong dollars.

5 Squatter shacks of the kind which sprang up throughout Hong Kong following the tidal wave of post-war immigration. By the mid-980's they should all disappear. The story of Hong Kong has been one of enterprise and growth; of obstacles overcome and achievements forged from adversity. Over the years, its people have faced devastating typhoons, fires and landslides. They have survived riots, war, economic setbacks. But no chapter in Hong Kong's story has been more stirring, and no obstacle attacked with more determination than the continuing problem of providing homes for the millions who have swollen its population in the past generation. Between now and the mid-'eighties, Hong Kong faces one of the greatest challenges in its history the task of providing new, modem homes for some.4 million people, in three carefullyplanned new towns: Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun. (Map ) The undertaking is the largest of its kind in the world. It is being tackled with all the enterprise and energy that has raised Hong Kong from a tiny trading enclave to a giant commercial and industrial centre in 30 short years. The Background Hong Kong was born of the China trade, and for the first hundred years or more of its life that trade was the sole reason for its being. Until the 9th century, Hong Kong was something of an oriental backwater. Its sparse population lived in a scattering of small villages, maintaining themselves largely by fishing and cultivating the scanty soil. Then 9th century western traders were drawn by the lure of the Middle Kingdom. Prominent among them were the British merchant princes the "tai-pans". In 842, Hong Kong Island was ceded in perpetuity to the British Crown under the Treaty of Nanking at the end of the first of the so-called "Opium Wars". The Kowloon Peninsula was ceded in turn following the Convention of Peking in 860. In 898, some 366 square miles of China comprising 28.5 square miles of mainland and 236 small islands were leased to the British Crown for 99 years. This area became known as the New Territories. From the time Hong Kong passed into British hands, increasing numbers of Chinese began to settle on what Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, had disparaged as "a barren rock, with barely a house upon it." In 84 about 2,000 Chinese lived on Hong Kong Island. By 859, the island's population had risen to 85,000, mostly Chinese. In subsequent years, political unrest on the Chinese mainland triggered periodic waves of migration into the British territory. In 946 the population stood at 600,000. Then, with the return of peace after World War II, Hong Kong experienced a tidal wave of Chinese immigration. Within the space of a year, the people from China came across the border at the astonishing rate of nearly 00,000 per month. By 947 the population had sky-rocketed to,800,000, and Hong Kong was reeling under a massive refugee problem. The newcomers packed cheek-by-jowl into the confined city areas of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, wherever there was land or space available. Colonies of up to 40,000 people congregated in these urban areas, and many families set up house on rooftops or on junks and sampans. Overnight, the squatters threw up shantytowns of corrugated iron, packing-case timber, even cardboard cartons. Within a few months, Hong Kong's urban areas were bursting at the seams. The slums spread up the city's hillslopes, creating nightmare living conditions. The shantytowns had no electricity or sewage disposal facilities, few water supply points, and minimal drainage. There was an ever-present risk of disease, and little protection from fire, typhoons or landslides. The flash-point came on Christmas Eve 953, when a disastrous fire swept through a large shantytown on a hillside in Kowloon, leaving 53,000 people homeless. Reacting quickly, the Hong Kong Government launched a massive crash programme to build new housing, concentrating its efforts on providing low-cost, rudimentary housing estates as quickly as possible. More recent programmes have since provided an improved standard of housing, and many of these emergency "Mark I" estates are now earmarked for demolition or renovation to higher standards. Room to Grow Since its earliest years, Hong Kong has been beset by a lack of suitable building land. The original settlements along the seashore of Hong Kong Island soon expanded up the easier slopes and ridges of the surrounding hills, and then on to land reclaimed from the shallower areas of sea. The New Territories, although largely mountain country, contain limited areas of flat land around the older settlements, and these remained agricultural, supplying much of Hong Kong's daily market needs.

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7 On Christmas Eve, 953 a disastrous fire swept through a Kowloon squatter area, leaving 53,000 people homeless - and triggering the first major attack on Hong Kong's housing problem. Their development was largely hindered by the Kowloon foothills which imposed a physical barrier to easy road communication and by lack of major public utility services. Thus arose a paradox: although Hong Kong and Kowloon contain some of the world's highest population densities, 88 per cent of Hong Kong's 404 square miles remain rural, or uninhabited. In spite of the enormous post-war population spiral, this situation did not greatly change until recently. Kowloon Peninsula, it is true, had been extensively developed, new land being created by cutting into "borrow areas" on the hills and dumping the spoil into the sea: Kwun Tong in the east, and Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan in the west had become busy industrial townships before the new town policy of today was formulated. But the Hong Kong Government's decision to develop new towns in the New Territories was the first real, planned attempt to breach the physical barrier of the Kowloon foothills. It was in 960 that the government commissioned a study to identify further areas for future major urban development. As a result, development planning at Tuen Mun (Castle Peak) began in 965. In October 972, the Governor-in-Council approved a major housing programme, with the aim of providing adequate housing for another.8 million people by the mid-980's. The policy seeks to rehouse all Hong Kong's remaining squatters there are a quarter of a million of them; to provide self-contained accommodation for all households; to relieve overcrowding; and to provide housing for those who must be rehoused as a consequence of other government schemes. More than half of this new housing will be provided in the new towns being built under the aegis of the Public Works Department at Sha Tin, Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun. Meeting the Challenge To build the new towns, a new department known as the New Territories Development Department (N.T.D.D.) was established within the Public Works Department in 973. It is responsible for planning and developing the new towns on schedule, in consultation with the New Territories Administration and the other government departments which will be responsible for future management of the towns. The department is headed by the Director of New Territories Development and is staffed by teams of architects, engineers, and town planners. Each new town project is under the direct control and supervision of a Project Manager. Public housing has been given high priority in the N.T.D.D.'s planning of the new towns, and private residential developments are being strongly encouraged. But the new towns will provide more than just housing. They will be places where people can work and play, grow and learn. And with them will come new industries to provide new and better jobs. Planners are providing for a full range of community facilities from indigenous cooked food stalls to modern teaching hospitals. The towns will be fully self-contained, simultaneously providing their residents with employment and meeting their basic needs. Care is being taken to see that at each stage of their development, the new towns are integrated units. Industry and housing will grow in step; and no housing will be completed until the full range of social and community support facilities for its residents is assured. Already the new faces of the new towns are emerging. Make-shift shantytowns are disappearing, and in their place are rising modern, high population density housing estates. New highways are pushing out to link the new cities; water mains, modern sewerage and storm-water drainage systems are being built where before there were none. Rivers are being trained to new courses, running through new parklands. Modern industrial estates are being laid out and serviced, and schools and playgrounds planned for the children of those who will work there. But in building the new, the best of the old is being preserved the traditional walled villages, peaceful temples, wooded hills and striking skylines. Hong Kong's population has grown from some 600,000 in 946 to an estimated 4.5 million today. Its present industrial workforce alone is now equivalent to the 946 population, following an industrial revolution jammed into a generation. The history of how Hong Kong deals with this massive growth, and provides its millions with an ever-improving quality of life, will be written in the coming decade. Much of the story will be told in three new towns Sha Tin, Tuen Mun, and Tsuen Wan. This is the story of Sha Tin.

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11 The Sha Tin Valley looking south-west towards the head of the ShingMun River Valley. At right. The To Fung Shan Mission Chapel. Below: Worshipping at the Temple of Teh Thousand Buddhas. Sha Tin (meaning "sandy field") lies at the base of the Sha Tin Valley, which has several distinct features (Map 3): Sha Tin Hoi (Tide Cove), a wide and relatively shallow estuary which forms the southern extremity of Tolo Harbour a lowland flood plain situated near the mouth of the river the foothills surrounding the valley the steep, high mountains encircling Sha Tin Hoi and the foothills. The Sha Tin Valley is separated from Kowloon by a range of hills dominated by Lion Rock (495m;,624 ft.) and Sugar Loaf Peak (372m;,220 ft.). Behind the flood plain, on three sides of the valley hills rise steeply to heights of more than 300 metres (984 ft.) above sea level, forming a natural barrier to communication. The Shing Mun River flows into Sha Tin Hoi from the west, and acts as a tail-race for the overflow from the Lower Shing Mun Reservoir. The present population in the Sha Tin Valley is about 45,000 people against the 500,000 who will eventually live in the new town (Fig. 5). Many of them commute daily to Kowloon for work, while others cultivate market gardens in the lowlying areas. Light industry, some of it illegal, is scattered throughout the valley. Two of the largest factories offering local employment are a cotton yarn factory and a dye works. The valley contains a number of Hong Kong's major attractions for tourists (one of our major income-providers), and planning of the new town has incorporated these features. They include the walled village of Tsang Tai Uk, the Sha Tin Floating Restaurant, the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas, the To Fung Shan Mission and Pottery Works, Amah Rock and many of the walk-paths which have been cut into the hillsides. (Map 2). Sha Tin is on the Kowloon-Canton Railway which links Kowloon, to the south, with Tai Po and China in the north. In fact, for many overseas visitors passing through Kowloon on their way to the New Territories or China, Sha Tin provides the first impression of a Chinese countryside. Two arterial roads serve the valley: Tai Po Road links Sha Tin to West Kowloon and Tai Po, and the Lion Rock Tunnel Road provides access to North Kowloon. (Map 2) Existing Settlements There were many social and human problems to be overcome when planning Sha Tin New Town. One of the most important which is peculiarly Chinese is the arcane tradition of 'Tung shui". "Fung shui" is a type of Far-Eastern geomancy, with the literal meaning of "wind and water". This quasi-religious practice has been used for thousands of years to determine the best site for a Chinese home or workplace in relation to natural features of the landscape such as waterways, land form and vegetation. These features are seen as symbolic of forces believed to affect the well-being, livelihood and good fortune of the residents both in this life and in afterlife. It is widely believed that a locale's "fung shui" should not be disturbed unless the spirits are appeased, and appeasement is only possible under certain circumstances, usually through the staging of costly ceremonial rites, with suitable compensation being paid to residents. The importance of respecting "fung shui" has long been recognised by the Hong Kong Government, and its significance in the Sha Tin New Town project becomes apparent when one realises that there are some 30 villages of various sizes accommodating approximately 20,000 people within the new town boundary. The "fung shui" question also has to be considered in the choice of sites for the rehousing of the villagers, be it in new estates or in modern "village-type" housing. Except for reclamation areas, most of the land in the Sha Tin Valley scheduled for redevelopment is leased to private owners, mostly as agricultural or village land. The area is dotted with a very large number of village-type houses and temporary structures built under permit, and many officiallytolerated structures erected by squatters. Resumption and Clearance For the government to gain possession of the land, a variety of legal processes are required. Acquisition and clearance of the land is dealt with by the District Office Sha Tin and the Housing Department after detailed consultation with the local residents. Some local villages have burial grounds located inside their boundaries, and the location and removal of graves and bone pots is a difficult and time-consuming process. Several villages will be affected by the new town development (see planning areas in Map 9): TsangTai Uk ("Tsang's Big House") (planning area 5) is a well-known walled village built in the middle of the 9th century and originally known as Sha Ha Wai ("walled village at the foot of the hill"). It is one of the area's greatest potential tourist attractions. The village was built by a local quarry-master

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15 A model of the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club's Sha Tin Racecourse which is now under construction. Below: Part of the Planned Town Centre - heart of the New Town. At right: The bicycle is already a major form of recreation in Sha Tin. The building of a special network of cycle-paths will make it a major form of safe, pollution-free transport. 2 The town plan for Sha Tin New Town aims at providing accommodation and adequate local employment opportunities for 500,000 people in a convenient and attractive environment by 985. (Map 4) Other main objectives of the plan are the creation of a vigorous, socially-balanced and reasonably self-contained community which meets the basic needs of all its residents, and provides them with new opportunities and freedom of choice in housing, shopping, employment and recreation. The plan also ensures that the residents find it easy, safe and convenient to travel to their work, shopping and recreation. It outlines ways and means by which people will be able to use all the area's available resources efficiently and imaginatively, and it aims to create an attractive city appropriate to the district. Basically, the plan involves the construction of an interrelated series of compact, serviced communities of various sizes within a larger city community covering, in all, an area of 2,694 hectares (6,657 acres). Each community will be comprehensively designed. When completed, Sha Tin New Town will be a linear-shaped, cellular city concentrated along the natural valleys of the Shing Mun River, at the natural centre of the transportation routes which converge there. At the heart of the city will be a Town Centre built around a public transport complex incorporating the redeveloped Sha Tin Railway Station and central bus stations. The new town will be framed by the ridges and valleys of Sha Tin Hoi and will provide an interlocking network of roads, railways, paths and streams a communications pattern largely dictated by the region's natural forces and topography. (Map 6) Running through the length of the new town's centre will be the Shing Mun River, which will strongly affect the design of the town's land form, drainage, open spaces, landscape and recreation facilities. (Map 5) Shaping A Community Sha Tin New Town will be a well-shaped, meaningful community in which people of all ages and incomes will be provided with a choice of homes, work and life style. Facilities will be provided to meet all their basic needs safety, shelter, security, health, education, employment and recreation. Development of the new town will progress in orderly stages from the centre, and will spread out from the growing nucleii of existing villagetype developments. (Map 5) In this fashion, the traditional character of Sha Tin will be maintained. Several varieties of residential communities are planned, varying in type, size, location and population density in order to encourage maximum social diversity throughout the community. It is a truism that housing alone does not make a new town. The people who live in it must have balanced opportunities for work, play and education. They must have hospitals, clinics, institutions for higher education, and such essential services as fire and police stations. For Sha Tin New Town, planners are using two main groups of facilities district and local. "District" facilities will provide services for the whole new town. These will include clinics, hopsitals, fire stations, police stations, major sports grounds, open spaces and civic centres all centrally located for the easy access and convenience of residents. "Local" facilities will serve smaller areas within the new town. They will include schools, local open spaces, market stalls and welfare centres. Community halls have been planned for the various housing estates, together with recreation fields for district and local use, and planners have made every effort to ensure that there will be an appropriate balance in the new community between: employment and housing high density housing, low density housing and other housing public housing and private housing. Special attention has been paid to the location and distribution of housing and industrial zones, and the needs of existing residents in relation to the needs of future residents- The new town will be planned and developed in a series of self-contained communities, each within separate "planning areas" of various sizes. (Maps 4 and 9). Each planning area will have its own local shops, schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, open spaces, social welfare and other community facilities. No housing will be completed without its occupants being assured of such essential facilities.

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17 All age groups, from infants to the elderly, will be provided with their own special facilities within the new town, and special consideration is being given to the physically-handicapped and the infirm. As a safety measure, vehicular traffic will normally be segregated from pedestrians. Most parts of the new community will be within easy walking distance of each other. There will be a centrally-located Town Centre to act as a focus for all rail, bus and pedestrian communications and to stimulate the commercial, administrative, social and cultural life of the district. The Town Centre will contain a major Civic Centre complex comprising a town hall, central library, auditorium, and restaurants. It will also be the hub of the public transport network, incorporating a modern railway station the new Sha Tin station and central bus stations. Covered links with the major pedestrian routes in Sha Tin will allow smooth pedestrian movement to and from the Town Centre. Vehicular traffic, separated from pedestrian movement, will be confined to a system of one way streets at ground level. The main pedestrian thoroughfares and activity areas, and the majority of shops and restaurants, will be on an upper level. Housing for 30,000 people is provided in the Town Centre adjacent to the commercial core. Included within this residential commercial area is provision for kindergartens, nurseries, youth centres and sitting-out areas. Guidelines for Land Use Wherever practicable, land in the new town will be appropriately zoned for industrial, residential, commercial-residential, government and community uses. (Map 4) Land set aside for offensive uses will be segregated from the general community as much as possible, and noxious industries will not be permitted within the new town boundary. Certain types of buildings and facilities, such as high population density flats, food stores, servicing workshops and retail shops will be grouped together for the convenience of residents. The new town's high population density housing areas will be located on the flat lands along the central floor of the valley, as close as practicable to the district facilities and main transportation services, while the lower population density housing areas, will for the most part, be located on elevated ground around the periphery of the new town, to take advantage of the natural vistas. Guidelines to the Environment In the planning, design and development of Sha Tin New Town, high priority is being given to all aspects of the environment. All new buildings will be serviced by piped, treated water and a sewage disposal system, which will be systematically extended throughout the whole town. Existing squatter areas will be replaced by modern housing communities with full public utility services. Pollution will be controlled by the elimination of sub-standard development and by the introduction of modern waste-disposal schemes. Offensive industries and activities will be located away from the residential areas by the selective zoning of land. Conserving the Landscape A landscape plan has been prepared to serve as a guide for the detailed design of the new town and important natural and historical sites will be conserved and enhanced. The area's many prominent tree-covered ridges and other attractive natural skylines and vistas will be retained, and ready access will be provided to the district's open spaces, "green belt" areas and country park walks. There will be a major programme of tree and shrub planting, and of landscaping generally. The Shing Mun River and its environs will be transformed into a major recreational area, and scenic promenades and cycle paths will run along the riverside (Map 7). It is also planned to transform certain areas in the southeast of Sha Tin Valley into "green belt" for hiking, picnicking and general recreation. Hillsides covered in virgin forest are to be preserved as part of the town's open space system. Pleasure boating on the Shing Mun River. The river banks will be transformed into scenic promenades and parklands. At right: Certain areas of Sha Tin will be left as "green belts" to link the new town with the traditional recreational areas. Below: Worshippers at the Che Kung Temple during the Lunar New Year. This will include 3 hectares (280 acres) of treecovered slope south of the Lion Rock Tunnel which is to be incorporated into the adjoining Lion Rock Country Park. Considerable attention has been paid to the final form of the areas which are being excavated for fill material used for reclaiming land from the sea. Some are being terraced and others are being replanted. Recreation On the crowded Hong Kong urban scene, open space has always been a luxury. Many children have grown up with no place in which to play. The new towns have been specifically designed as an answer to this need. (Map 7) Each housing estate and each planning area in Sha Tin New Town will have its own open space, playgrounds, and recreational facilities. A total of 4 hectares (35 acres) of land have already been set aside for this purpose. A further 47 hectares (8 acres) have been allocated as open space to serve the district as a whole. Most of this land will be used for swimmingpools, sports grounds and parks, but certain areas will be left in a natural state. For racegoers who are legion in Hong Kong the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club is building its second course at Sha Tin. In the centre of the racecourse scheduled for completion in October 978 will be a large park, open to the public on non-race days. Two major sports centres will be built in Sha Tin, these being the Jubilee Sports Centre located near the race course and a sports stadium for 28,000 spectators located near the Sha Tin Wai Road Junction. Boating enthusiasts will be able to sail and row on the calm waters of Sha Tin Hoi, and on the Shing Mun River which, will flow through the centre of the new town. As the result of careful planning, cycle paths and walk-ways will inter-connect most of the recreational areas, providing direct access to the river banks. 4

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21 nd Industry 8 As well as providing housing for its residents, Sha Tin New Town will provide local employment opportunities in proportion to its projected increase in population. (Fig. 5) Light industrial zones have been planned on the basis that one person in five will work in them. This is in accordance with current trends in Hong Kong, and involves the planning and development of about 50 hectares (25 acres) of light industrial sites, located in three main industrial districts. (Map 4 and Fig. ) The first of these planned industrial districts is at Fo Tan, where approximately two hectares (5 acres) of industrial sites have already been developed, serviced and sold. A further 8 hectares (45 acres) are being developed, which will also be offered for sale. This land will be supported by a local commercial centre, planned open spaces, transport and other facilities. China has already built a HK$3-million oil storage depot on 0.8 hectares (90,000 sq. ft.) of land at Fo Tan, near the railway track. China Resources Ltd, which is handling the project, has built three storages tanks on site, with a total capacity for 200,000 tons of oil. The new tanks have greatly boosted China's ability to supply Hong Kong with oil. A further 0.3 hectares (35,000 sq. ft.) adjoining the railway track has been reserved as the site for two railway sidings, which will allow oil from China to be off-loaded immediately beside the new depot. A first-class primary distributor road will eventually be run into Fo Tan, giving commercial vehicles direct access to the trunk roads by way of a nearby interchange. (Map 6) LOCATION PROVISION OF FORMED AND SERVICED SITES FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN SHA TIN NEW TOWN Fo Tan industrial area (planning area 6A) Pat Tsz Wo (Fo Tan second stage) (planning area 6B) Siu Lek Yuen industrial area (planning area 4) Tung Lo Wan industrial area (planning area 3) Shek Mun industrial area (planning area ) Pak Shek industrial area (planning area 7) Total Net industrial land Provision by year (Totals of new industrial land in hectares) (Refer Maps 4 and 9) As at Including expansion between 980 and /78 78/79 79/80 80/8 0 0 Total 8/82 after 8/82 8 0* 2 2* 8* 50*

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25 The Fo Tan Nullah during its early stage of construction. When completed, the concrete-lined nullah will carry stormwater during floods. Sha Tin Water Treatment Works. At right: The cofferdam for the pumping station to serve the permanent Sewage Treatment Plant Both the pumping station and the sewage treatment plant are being built on reclaimed land. Below: 33 kv high tension lines bring power to the valley. 22 Water Supply Adequate water supplies for Sha Tin are already available locally. Hong Kong's major water treatment plant is located at the western end of the Sha Tin Valley, and receives all water from the existing Plover Cove reservoir (230 million cubic metres) and the giant High Island reservoir (273 million cubic metres) which began impounding water in 977. Various fresh and salt-water service reservoirs and a completely new water reticulation system have been planned for the new town, and work has commenced on the construction of a service reservoir in Tung Lo Wan. Sewerage Long recognised as one of the most attractive water-ways in Hong Kong, Tolo Harbour provides Sha Tin with a fine natural asset. The Public Works Department has taken special precautions to safeguard it against any form of pollution. No sewage in an untreated form will be discharged into the harbour, and a comprehensive sewage collection system has been designed to serve the whole of Sha Tin, as part of the new town project. The system will be built with capacity for the entire development even though this capacity will not be fully utilised until the new town is completed. This is being done to eliminate the costly re-opening of completed roads and housing areas, and to avoid disruption to traffic. The permanent plant, north of the racecourse, will be commissioned in 980 when the population of Sha Tin New Town should be well in excess of 00,000 people. Construction of the first stage of this plant, to serve 230,000 people, is being financed with the assistance of a loan from the Asian Development Bank. A temporary sewage treatment plant near Fo Tan has been completed to serve 33,000 people. This plant has been expanded by the installation of an interim treatment plant which was completed in early 978. Special arrangements will also be made for the treatment of industrial sewage in the new town. Due to the wide fluctuations possible in both the nature and rate of discharge of industrial sewage, it will be carefully controlled to avoid harmful effects on the chemical processes of the treatment works. Storm Water After decades of dealing with typhoons, flash floods, and landslides, Hong Kong's engineers are expert in handling storm water. Engineers employed on the new town project have specially designed the sea-walls and river-walls to resist typhoon flooding, and the entire town will be drained by an efficient storm water system. When construction of the main Shing Mun river channel is completed, the channel will be completely cleared of rubbish, then deepened. This will ensure the efficiency of its water flow and improve its amenity value. Thereafter, a system of preventative maintenance will be instituted to guarantee the continuous efficiency of the system. In designing the new town's "nullahs*" and culverts, special note has been taken of these requirements. * Re-aligned river channels Public Utilities During all phases of the new town's development, the government has maintained a close liaison with the public utility companies. The Hong Kong & China Gas Co. Ltd will serve the new town via a trunk main already laid through the second Lion Rock Tunnel, in which the roadworks are now completed. Sites have already been reserved for the company's gas-holder and for buildings to house its control equipment and pressure-reducing valves. The general location of installations owned by China Light and Power Co. Ltd and the Hong Kong Telephone Co. Ltd are now known, and the cable systems for electricity supply and telephone services will generally follow the new town's road system. (Map 6) A major electricity sub-station to serve Sha Tin and the surrounding area has been built at Tai Wai. It has the capacity to provide power to industrial plants in the new town. A large new telephone exchange is already in operation near Tung Lo Wan with capacity to serve the whole district. For both environmental and safety reasons, most of the public utility services in the new town are being channelled underground.

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27 Implementation Construction in progress for the grandstand of the Sha Tin Racecourse. At right: Site formation at Fo Tan Valley. Below: High-mast lighting for Taipo Road adjacent to the racecourse. 24 Project Team Approach Detailed planning and development for Sha Tin New Town is being carried out by professional teams under the control of the Project Manager (Sha Tin), who is responsible to the Director of New Territories Development. The Project Manager must ensure that proper progress is made on all detailed planning and on the relevant Public Works Programme projects, so that the housing programme and associated developments are completed on schedule. Role of the N.T.D.D. and P.W.D. The New Territories Development Department (N.T.D.D.) was set up as a new department within the Public Works Department (P.W.D.) and charged with the planning, co-ordination and implementation of the P.W.D. effort in developing the New Territories to meet the government's housing programme. The new department is relatively small, and consists mainly of a number of senior professional officers who co-ordinate and oversee the consulting engineers, private architects and P.W.D. branches employed on the project. Co-ordination with other government departments, such as the New Territories Administration and Housing Department, is required on such items as land acquisition and clearance. Targets and Staging Planning the town layout is the first step in the process of the new town's development. (Map 4) The necessary land is then acquired and cleared, and formation work commences. (Map 5) In concert with this work, essential engineering services such as roads, sewers and utility services are provided. Formed and serviced land then becomes available for building development i.e. residential blocks, community facilities, commercial and industrial buildings. At the end of any stage of the development, the aim is to achieve a proper balance between population (in both public and private housing), job opportunities, community facilities and commercial activities. The Outline Development Plan for Sha Tin New Town covers a total development area of about 2,694 hectares (6,657 acres) located in the valley at the head of Sha Tin Hoi, and on land reclaimed from the cove. The planning boundaries generally follow the watersheds of the lower reaches of the Sha Tin and Shing Mun River valleys. The Package Concept Physical development of the site will largely be implemented through the government's Public Works Programme, which provides for civil engineering works, the construction of buildings, and waterworks. At Sha Tin New Town, the first public housing estate (Lek Yuen) has already been constructed by the P.W.D.'s Architectural Office in this manner, but the remaining public estates will be constructed by the Housing Department with funds from the Housing Authority. Development of the new town is divided into two stages. Stage One covers the centrally-located areas, mostly reclaimed from Sha Tin Hoi, which have a population target of 240,000. Stage Two covers the remainder of the work involved in the completion of the new town, with a population target of another quarter of a million. The various works in the two stages are grouped in the Sha Tin New Town Development Programme! into a series of packages for Stage One, and, at present, 3 packages for Stage Two. As with Hong Kong's two other new towns (Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan), the Sha Tin New Town Development Programme "packages" are arranged in order of priority to provide both financial flexibility and balanced development. Individual "packages" are also "balanced", so that all essential services, community facilities and communications required in the area will be provided. However, housing and industrial development are in different "packages" and a balance between employment opportunities and population growth is being achieved by proceeding with both types of "package" concurrently. Within the goal to complete Sha Tin in 0 years, the total government expenditure is estimated to be about HK$5,000 million at 977 prices. The private sector investment is likely to be of the same order. The new town's community facilities are being provided in accordance with standards laid down in the Hong Kong Outline PlanJ and the programming of all works, including public housing, is being co-ordinated by the Sha Tin New Town Development Office. i "Sha Tin New Town Development Programme" An implementation programme, up-dated annually which correlates population build-up to all the engineering and building works required, and to cash flow. % "Hong Kong Outline Plan" A document setting out the Hong Kong Government's long-term land use strategy; it is used as a guide by government departments and statutory authorities.

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29 Appendix No SIGNIFICANT ELEMENTS OF THE 977 FIVE YEAR PROGRAMME FOR SHA TIN NEW TOWN (All figures are cumulative) DESCRIPTION Design Population (public housing) (in thousands) Design Population (private housing) (in thousands) Design Population (total) (in thousands) Serviced Land (in hectares gross) (residential and industrial land only) 978/ / / / / After 82/ FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SHA TIN NEW TOWN General Information The Project Manager (Sha Tin), Sha Tin New Town Development Office, 2nd floor, Sha Tin Government Offices, 2 Tung Lo Wan Hill, Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Telephone: 2-67 Extension 260 Land Sales The District Officer Sha Tin, Sha Tin Government Offices, 2 Tung Lo Wan Hill, Sha Tin, Hong Kong. Telephone: 2-67 Extension 200 Hong Kong Telephone Co. Ltd. Princes Building, Hong Kong. Telephone: Water Supply The Senior Engineer (House Service), Distribution Division, Argyle Street Depot, Argyle Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Telephone: Extension 7 SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY FACILITIES* Government primary schools Government secondary schools Divisional fire stations Sub-divisional fire stations Ambulance depots, by number of ambulances Divisional police stations Sub-divisional police stations Teaching hospital and polyclinic Cultural complex General clinics Hawker/Market Stalls Community halls Community centres District open space (in hectares) Industry Inquiries The Assistant Commissioner (Industry), Trade Industry and Customs Department, Ocean Centre, Canton Road, Kowloon. Telephone: Public Utility Services Hong Kong & China Gas Co. Ltd. Java Road, Hong Kong. Telephone: 5-62 China Light & Power Co. Ltd. 47 Argyle Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Telephone: * Figures for 8/82 are estimates only 26

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