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Following is a question by the Hon Mrs Selina Chow and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (December 1) :

Question:

It is learnt that the Environmental Protection Department tentatively confirmed in 2000 that 29 out of the 655 "noisy roads" in Hong Kong, including the Tsing Tsuen Bridge in Kwai Tsing District, would be the first batch of roads to be retrofitted with noise shielding facilities. In the same year, the Executive Council endorsed the retrofitting of noise shielding facilities on these roads at a cost of $2.3 billion spreading over a 10-year period. According to the information paper provided by the Government for the joint meeting of the Environmental Affairs Panel, the Transport Panel and the Planning, Lands and Works Panel of this Council on 15 January 2002, the Government planned to commence works on retrofitting the Tsing Tsuen Bridge with noise barriers in April 2002, and the project was expected to be completed in December 2007. However, the Progress Report on the Works Programme in Kwai Tsing District as at the end of June this year indicated that the Government was reviewing the commencement and completion dates of the project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the reasons for not yet carrying out the project and its latest progress?

Reply:

Madam President,

With a view to mitigating the noise impact of existing roads on residents in their neighborhood, the Government introduced a policy in 2000 to implement engineering solutions where practicable, by way of retrofitting of barriers and enclosures and resurfacing with low noise material, at existing roads which generate noise levels exceeding 70 dB(A)L10(1 hour). In Enclosure I of the paper entitled "Measures to Address Noise Impact of Existing Roads" (CB(2)482/00-01(01)) submitted to the Panel on Transport on 15 December 2000, we estimated that the indicative cost of retrofitting 29 existing roads with barriers/enclosures was $2,340 million. We also stated in the paper that funding for the retrofitting and road surfacing works for the roads identified at that time, and for any additional roads covered by the new policy, would be sought through the normal resource allocation mechanism.

The implementation schedules of all public works projects are subject to adjustment depending on availability of resources. The schedule of the noise barrier retrofit project for Tsing Tsuen Bridge has been revised according to its priority in the resource allocating process. This retrofit project has now been included in the Public Works Programme for implementation within the next five years. The Highways Department is preparing for the detailed study and design work of the project and plans to consult the Kwai Tsing District Council and Tsuen Wan District Council in mid 2005 on the schematic design. If the study and design work progress smoothly, the project is expected to commence in late 2007 for completion in about three years' time.

Ends/Wednesday, December 1, 2004

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