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The Discovery Bay Community Hall, the first of its kind in the Islands District, has completed construction and will come to operation on June 1.
The Islands District Office today (May 30) held an opening ceremony for the Discovery Bay Community Hall to commemorate the occasion, and presented a symphonic winds concert for enjoyment by guests and residents at the well-equipped hall.
Officiating at the ceremony today were the Director of Home Affairs, Mrs Pamela Tan, Chairman of Islands District Council, Mr Lam Wai-keung, Islands District Officer, Mr Byron Lam, Acting District Social Welfare Officer (Central Western/Southern/Islands), Mr Lee Yuen-hung, and Executive Director of Neighbourhood Advice Action Council, Mr Tung Chi-fat.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Mrs Tan said, ¡§In view of the rapid population growth of the Islands District in recent years, the Islands District Council and the Home Affairs Department have been planning new community halls to meet the greater needs of the residents here.¡¨
¡§Thanks to the concerted efforts of all parties, the first community hall in the Islands District is now completed and ready for use.¡¨
¡§I am also pleased to announce that a second community hall for the Islands District will be open, in Tung Chung, at the end of this year. The Home Affairs Department has been committed to developing fully-equipped community halls to serve as a multi-purpose venue for residents and local organisations to hold various kinds of activities.¡¨
The Discovery Bay Community Hall provides a wide range of facilities. These include a multi-purpose hall with a stage which can accommodate a few hundred people. The community hall is also equipped with supporting facilities such as conference rooms and changing rooms.
To better cater for the needs of the residents, the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council has also set up a branch office of its Integrated Service Centre in the community hall to provide one-stop service.
¡§I hope that local organisations can make full use of the community hall to hold more activities to enrich the life of our residents in Discovery Bay,¡¨ Mrs Tan said.
On the Government¡¦s actions to fight against the human swine influenza, Mrs Tan said, ¡§The Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach against the pandemic, including quarantine and health care measures and territory-wide cleaning campaigns.¡¨
¡§The Home Affairs Department is stepping up cleaning operations and publicity projects in the districts, such as promoting cleaning operations for private buildings, dissemination of information on health and influenza, household cleaning for the elderly and etc.¡¨
¡§The Islands District Council in collaboration with the District Office, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and various local organisations have taken proactive measures to implement a series of district cleaning activities as well as educational programmes to remind the residents to stay vigilant, to observe personal hygiene and to keep the environment clean.¡¨
¡§I call on you all to do your part and join hands with us in building a clean and healthy community,¡¨ she added.
Ends/Saturday, May 30, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:06
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