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The Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Mrs Carrie Yau, today (April 18) briefed the Heung Yee Kuk on the proposed Sheung Shui poultry processing plant project and exchanged views with Heung Yee Kuk members on the project.
Mrs Yau repeated that the primary purpose for developing the processing plant to place poultry slaughtering activities under one roof was to achieve the policy objective of separating live poultry from humans through minimising their contacts as far as practicable to reduce the risk of human infection of avian influenza.
Cases of avian influenza infection were not confined to Asia but had spread to Europe and Africa, causing a greater global threat. As such, the Government had to make all the necessary precautions with a view to safeguarding public health, she said.
The Administration understood the concerns of Heung Yee Kuk members, North District Council members and residents about the location of the processing plant and would carefully consider the views gauged, she said.
Mrs Yau stressed that various factors had been taken into account as far as possible when identifying the plant site. The proposed site is located close to the boundary and local poultry farms, which could shorten the route for transporting live chickens. In addition, there was readily available basic infrastructure such as water and electricity supply and sewage network (the proposed site was adjacent to the sewage treatment works in Shek Wu Hui), and the relevant land lot could be used within a short time, allowing the slaughtering plant to come into operation as soon as possible.
"This is the first time Hong Kong plans to develop a poultry processing facility, and residents' anxiety is understandable. We are willing to continue to maintain close contacts with the relevant organisations and stakeholders on the site issue in the hope of gauging views from various parties during the planning process and actively seeking a consensus," she said.
Mrs Yau further explained that the Government would conduct a statutory environmental impact assessment study and request the operator of the processing plant to adopt design and measures that would effectively control the impact on the environment and reduce possible nuisance. The proposed processing plant was expected to adopt enclosed design and install proper facilities for sewage treatment and discharge, air sterilisation and deodorisation, as well as noise insulation and silencing so as to minimise the nuisance caused to the nearby residents.
The Administration had earlier consulted the North District Council and Legislative Council's Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene on the project on April 6 and April 11 respectively.
Ends/Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:22
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