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Eligible diesel taxi owners are invited to apply from August 8 to the Transport Department for a one-off grant to convert their diesel taxis into Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) taxis.

A Transport Department spokesman said that the replacement of diesel taxis by LPG taxis was one of the measures the government introduced to improve the air quality in Hong Kong and the grant would help encourage an early switch to LPG taxis by owners of diesel taxis.

The first registered owner of an LPG taxi that was first registered on or after October 7, 1999 for the replacement of his diesel taxi is eligible to apply for the full grant of $40,000.

The first registered owner of an LPG taxi that was first registered on or before October 6, 1999 for the replacement of his diesel taxi is eligible to apply for 50% of the grant, i.e. $20,000. The current registered owner of the LPG taxi is also eligible to apply for 50% of the grant, i.e. $20,000.

The spokesman reminds diesel taxi owners that those who replace their diesel taxis with LPG taxis on or before December 31, 2001 can apply for the grant during the period from August 8, 2000 to December 31, 2001.

"Diesel taxi owners whose diesel taxis aged seven years or above on or before December 31, 2001 must apply for the grant on or before December 31, 2001 for replacing their diesel taxis with LPG taxis," said the spokesman.

Diesel taxi owners whose diesel taxis aged six years or below during the period from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2003 can still apply for the grant during the same period for replacing their diesel taxis with LPG taxis.

A briefing session for the members of the taxi trade was organized by the department today (July 20) to help them familiarize with the application eligibility and procedures.

A pamphlet explaining the application details of the grant scheme has been produced and distributed to the trade.

Application forms will be obtainable at the following locations starting August 1:

* Transport Department Licensing Offices in Queensway, Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong or Sha Tin;

* Transport Department Vehicle Inspection Centres in Kowloon Bay, To Kwa Wan or Kwai Chung;

* District Offices; and

*Transport Department homepage at http://www.info.gov.hk/td.

Enquiries may be delivered to the Transport Department at 2804 2600.

End/Thursday, July 20, 2000

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