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The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (February 24) announced a special arrangement for vehicle owners who want to replace their pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles during the current one-off grant scheme.
An EPD spokesman said, "The three-year one-off grant scheme to encourage early replacement of pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles will expire on March 31, 2010. In order to accommodate last-minute purchases of replacement vehicles prior to the deadline, we will introduce a special arrangement for owners who have placed an order for the new vehicle by March 31, 2010.
"Under the arrangement, they have to submit to EPD by April 7, 2010 an application for retaining their eligibility for the grant. Should their eligibility be approved, they can lodge their application for the one-off grant not later than March 31, 2011," he added.
To bring relief from roadside air pollution, the Government, in April 2007, introduced the one-off grant scheme to encourage the early replacement of these aged vehicles with new ones. Since the scheme began, the number of pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles have been reduced from about 59,000 to 38,100.
Replacing all the pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles by Euro IV vehicles would cut the emissions of respirable suspended particulates (RSP) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from the diesel commercial vehicle fleet by 62% and 35% respectively, bringing substantial improvement to roadside air quality.
Details of the one-off grant scheme and the special arrangement are available from the EPD website (http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/prob_solutions/old_diesel_com_veh_replace_prog.html).
Ends/Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:53
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