The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, visited Islands District today (March 15) to keep abreast of the latest developments of Tung Chung New Town.
      
     Mr Cheung began his visit by meeting with Islands District Council members and listening to their views on various development issues and matters of concern to the community.
      
     Accompanied by the Chairman of the Islands District Council, Mr Chow Yuk-tong, and the District Officer (Islands), Mr Anthony Li, Mr Cheung then visited Tung Chung to receive a briefing from various departments on the latest developments in Tung Chung and nearby areas, such as the Tung Chung New Town Extension Project, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link.
      
     He was pleased to learn that the Tung Chung New Town Extension would provide about 49 000 residential flats to accommodate a population of about 144 000 people for meeting future needs for housing and economic development. The project is one of the key initiatives of the multi-pronged approach adopted by the Government to increase land supply in the medium to long-term.
      
     Later, Mr Cheung visited the airport island to meet participants of Extra Mile, a community investment project of Hong Kong International Airport. He listened to the youth and non-Chinese-speaking participants of the “Working Holiday@Lantau” and “The Pioneer” projects respectively on the experience they had gained from the programmes. Mr Cheung also visited their work placement site.
      
     Extra Mile is a community investment project led by the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AA) and supported by its business partners in the airport as well as non-government organisations and neighbouring communities. It aims at nurturing talents, improving social mobility and promoting the development of the airport and Hong Kong.
      
     The AA's “Working Holiday@Lantau” programme is organised jointly with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups that offers a one-year work placement for working youths, while “The Pioneer” is partnered with HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre that provides a one-year work placement programme at the airport for non-Chinese speakers with leadership potential.
      
     He emphasised that the current-term Government strives to do its best in youth development by addressing the concerns of young people on education, career pursuit and home ownership so that the younger generation will see hope and opportunities for upward mobility. It will also enhance employment and other support services for the ethnic minorities to facilitate their integration into the community.   

Ends/Thursday, March 15, 2018
Issued at HKT 18:55

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