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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Kam-lam and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (January 10) :
Question:
According to the Cooperation Agreement on Cross-boundary Marine Dumping signed between the Government and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) in March 2004, public fill from Hong Kong may be delivered to the Mainland for disposal. After the South China Sea Branch of SOA had determined the location in the Mainland for receiving public fill, the Government invited tenders in April last year to commission a contractor to operate the public fill reception facilities in Hong Kong and deliver public fill to the designated reclamation sites in the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether, prior to the tendering exercise, it was aware of the fact that the successful tenderer has to bear the costs for the construction of infrastructural facilities at the reception sites in the Mainland, as well as the requirements which will be imposed on the successful tenderer by the mainland authority; if it was, of the reasons for not setting out the details in the tender document;
(b) of the average disposal charge per tonne of public fill based on the value of the contract awarded by the Government; and whether it knows if the successful tenderer concerned has taken into account the above costs for infrastructural facilities in setting its bid price;
(c) whether the Government is required to pay the mainland authority in respect of the disposal of public fill from Hong Kong; if so, of the rate of charge per tonne; and
(d) as a tenderer has pointed out that the mainland authority had considered designating the Dayawan Petrochemical Industry Park as the public fill reception point but eventually chose Guanghaiwan of Taishan, a site farther away from Hong Kong, whether the Government is aware of the reasons why the mainland authority has taken such a decision.
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Government was aware that the successful tenderer for the delivery of public fill to Guanghaiwan of Taishan had to bear the costs of construction of project facilities necessary for the receipt of public fill from Hong Kong at the reception site and to comply with the requirements imposed by the Mainland authorities prior to the tender exercise. The tender document stipulated that tenderers had to carry out the necessary enquiries and to obtain all detailed requirements in respect of the reclamation site from the Taishan authorities. In this connection, the Taishan authorities have produced a booklet on their "Receiving Conditions and Technical Requirements" for distribution to prospective tenderers, which clearly sets out the project facilities and other technical requirements necessary for the receipt of public fill from Hong Kong.
(b) & (c) The Government pays the relevant fees for the disposal of public fill to the Mainland authorities through contract payment to the delivery contractor.
The scope of the tender concerned is primarily to operate all public fill reception facilities in Hong Kong and to deliver public fill to the Taishan reclamation site. Operation of public fill reception facilities is for two years and about 17 million tonnes of public fill will be handled. As for the delivery of public fill to Taishan, the service period is one year and the estimated quantity is ten million tonnes. The contract was awarded in November 2006 with a contract sum of $768 million.
When submitting their bid, tenderers need to understand the tender requirements and to consider all relevant costs in setting the bid price. Hence, tenderers should have been fully aware of the requirements of the Mainland authorities (including fees payable to the Mainland authorities for handling public fill) before setting the tender price and submitting the tender.
(d) Sites for accommodating public fill from Hong Kong are determined by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA). We understand that the site selection process has taken into consideration such factors as environmental impact, the quantity of public fill and the project arrangement and technical requirements of the site concerned.
Ends/Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:10
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