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Following is a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, in the Legislative Council today (January 11):
Question:
The pier at Pak Kok Tsuen on Lamma Island (the pier) was built in the 1950s by the villagers with funds collected among themselves, and was redeveloped in the 1970s with the funds sought by the villagers. In the 1990s, the pier, which used to be a jetty used by the villagers for travelling to and from the island as well as transportation of goods, was already transformed into a ferry pier for the "Yung Shue Wan - Pak Kok Tsuen - Aberdeen" route, and the current number of passengers using the pier has reached a few hundreds per day or over a thousand during holidays. In the past 10-odd years, quite a number of the local people from Lamma Island had relayed to me and government departments their request to redevelop the pier into one which is up to standard, safe and is equipped with adequate facilities. I had written to the Development Bureau in 2008 requesting it to follow up on the redevelopment of the pier, and the then District Officer (Islands) replied that he would study and examine the feasibility of redeveloping the pier with the Transport Department and other relevant government departments, but the authorities have not given any reply so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the authorities have any plan to redevelop the pier; if they have, of the details (including when the plan commences, the costs to be incurred for the works, as well as the time required for the whole works project counting from its commencement to commissioning of the pier, etc.); if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities have any measure to improve the safety facilities at the pier, so that they will meet the safety standard for passengers boarding and alighting the ferries?
Reply:
President,
The pier at Pak Kok Tsuen on Lamma Island ("the pier") was constructed with funds collected by the villagers in the early years. In 2007, residents of Lamma Island and the Lamma Island (North) Rural Committee proposed that the pier should be reconstructed. As reconstructing the pier or building a new one involved the functions of a number of government departments, the Islands District Office (IsDO) referred the proposal to relevant departments for consideration.
In 2008, IsDO conducted limited repair works at the pier at the request of the local residents, which included repair to the foundation and concrete landing steps and replacement of the rubber fender. The Civil Engineering and Development Department was the works agent and the relevant expenses were paid out of the Rural Public Works Programme. In 2011, to ensure the safety of users, IsDO also carried out repair works to the landing steps of the pier.
In July 2010, the Transport Department conducted a survey on the usage of the pier and the result revealed that the usage was low. The Government had therefore no plan to reconstruct the pier or build a new pier at Pak Kok Tsuen at the time. The Government will continue to monitor the usage of the pier and study the feasibility of reconstructing the pier if the situation so warrants.
Ends/Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Issued at HKT 11:38
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