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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Yuen-han and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, in the Legislative Council today (25 June 2008):
Question:
A person who is in charge of a school has relayed to me that because the construction of a public housing estate ("PHE") of the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") at a site near the school is in progress, the school premises tremble whenever piling works are carried out every day at noon and in the evening. The noise of the works has also affected students attending classes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether at present, HA has adopted hydraulic jack piling across the board, which is more environmentally-friendly and can comparatively reduce the level of disturbances brought by the works, in the construction of its PHEs; if not, of the reasons for that and the HA works projects in which percussive piling is still in use;
(b) in the past three years, whether HA had adopted mitigation measures to abate the nuisance caused to the residents and communities nearby when piling works were carried out at its PHE sites, and whether it had regularly exchanged views with the affected residents and communities on the nuisance caused by the works, so that improvements could be made; and
(c) whether at present, the Education Bureau has set out clear guidelines stipulating that if the noise and nuisance caused to a school premises by piling works have reached a certain level, the school premises will be rendered unsuitable for classes and the authorities and school concerned are required to find alternative venues for students to attend classes; if not, whether the authorities will consider formulating such guidelines?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has adopted hydraulic jack piling in a pilot project. Yet, hydraulic jack piling is more suitable for use in sites with specific geological and ground conditions (e.g. in a stratum of largely homogeneous completely decomposed granite) and can only be applied to the construction of buildings with fewer storeys. As such, the HA has not widely adopted hydraulic jack piling for foundation works.
Percussive piling works are now proceeding at the HA¡¦s two projects at Tung Tau Estate Phase 9 and Shek Kip Mei Estate Phase 2. Ground investigation reveals that the ground conditions of these two sites, comprising of scattered boulders, render it unsuitable for hydraulic jack piling. Therefore, percussive piling is used instead for these two projects.
(b) Construction noise is subject to control under the Noise Control Ordinance. According to the Ordinance, the carrying out of percussive piling is only allowed during the daytime (i.e. between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.) on non-public holidays and a Construction Noise Permit issued by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is required. It will be a violation of law if a contractor does not hold a valid Construction Noise Permit or fails to comply with the conditions of the permit.
Having regard to the works method of the contractor, the EPD will specify conditions in the permit, including the types and number of percussive piling equipment to be used and the periods of time allowed for percussive piling. In general, the EPD will only allow percussive piling for a duration of three hours each day in urban areas. If the site of piling works is nearby school premises, the EPD will liaise with the school concerned and avoid granting approval to piling works during classes and examinations as far as possible. Depending on individual circumstances, the piling works are normally arranged to be carried out at periods around noon or towards the evening so as to minimise the noise nuisance.
When carrying out piling works, the HA, in compliance with the statutory requirements, will ask the contractors concerned to obtain a Construction Noise Permit from the EPD before commencing the works. Besides, to reduce the impact of the works to residents, schools and communities in the vicinity, the HA has included clauses in the foundation works contracts requiring contractors to use appropriate mitigation measures such as noise barrier if necessary and not to carry out piling works during school examinations.
Consultation with the District Councils concerned starts from the design stage of every new development project. While the construction works are in progress, the HA will also maintain contact with residents and local people in the vicinity to ensure the introduction of timely measures for minimising the nuisance caused by the works to them.
(c) Apart from providing control over the above-mentioned piling works, the Noise Control Ordinance also regulates noise nuisance generated by other construction, industrial and commercial activities as well as from neighbours. As with domestic premises, hotels, libraries, hospitals, etc., schools are similarly regarded as Noise Sensitive Receivers where the EPD would need to consider when assessing the impact of construction noise. Therefore, the authority concerned considers that the existing ordinance and the aforementioned measures should be able to effectively handle noise problems affecting schools.
Ends/Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Issued at HKT 15:41
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