How New Territories network of highways changed the face of Hong Kong, and paved the way for new towns’ success

  • A ring of modern, often multi-lane roads formed the essential infrastructure for the territory’s new towns
  • When the Fanling to Sha Tin highway opened in September 1985, it halved the travel time between the two places

Governor Edward Youde’s car cuts a ribbon to open the Sha Tin to Fanling section of the New Territories Trunk Road on September 24, 1985.

“A massive new road complex is now being planned which will result in the whole of the New Territories eventually being encircled with a ring of modern highways,” reported the South China Morning Post on April 16, 1974. “This will replace what are at the moment, small and often inefficient roads with two-lane dual-carriageways and – in places – multi-lane highways.”

The network, which would link Tsuen Wan, Castle Peak, Yuen Long, Sheung Shui, Tai Po and Sha Tin, was proposed to accom­modate an expected population shift to the New Territories. “The whole circular road scheme takes into account the present planned populations of the three new towns which are currently being designed as 900,000 for Tsuen Wan, and 500,000 each for Castle Peak and Shatin.”

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