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Following is a written question by the Hon Emily Lau and a reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Nicholas Ng, in the Legislative Council meeting this afternoon (Wednesday):

Question:

Regarding the adoption of sustainable development perspectives in planning, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether :

(i) they will review if the roads and highways planned for the next decade tie in with the concept of sustainable development; and

(ii) they will consider revising the population consideration for the building of railways in new towns so that more railways, which are more environment-friendly, can be built early?

Reply

Madam President,

Sustainable development is a cross-sectoral concept for application to planning and decision making in both the public and private sectors. In the area of transport, our Policy Objective has pledged to support the sustainable development of Hong Kong.

In October this year, the Government issued a new transport strategy "Moving Ahead: A Transport Strategy for the Future" based on the findings and recommendations of the Third Comprehensive Transport Study (CTS-3). The strategy provides the framework for the planning of transport infrastructure in a manner which contributes to the sustainable development of Hong Kong.

On road projects, they will only be built when their need is firmly established. Under the framework set out in the transport strategy, we will regularly review the need and the implementation programme of each road project to ensure that it dovetails with the most up-to-date land use and the latest population and traffic parameters.

On railway projects, we are committed to the policy of encouraging the use of railways, which are efficient mass carriers and are environmentally friendly. This means we will use railways as our first choice to meet passenger traffic demand wherever practicable. We will also integrate railway development with land use and planning targets, such as clustering intensive developments around rail stations to maximise the use of railways.

Apart from the projected population intake, the implementation of a rail project will also take into account factors such as the extent and pace of development along the railway corridor, the availability of sites, the delivery capability of the rail corporation undertaking the project and the long term viability of the project. The catchment population to be served by a railway line is important. However, this does not mean that for the short term, particularly in the start-up period, we would need the full population intake. For example, the population in the Tseung Kwan O New Town was 150 000 during the planning stage of the Tseung Kwan O Extension. When the line becomes operational in 2002, the population intake will only be slightly more than half of the ultimate projection. Similarly, while the population intake is continuing in North Lantau, and this has yet to reach its full capacity of 320 000 people, a heavy rail link is up and running since 1998/99.

End/Wednesday, November 17, 1999

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