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Following is a question by the Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat and a reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):
Question:
Quite a number of residents in newly developed districts, such as Tseung Kwan O, Tin Shui Wai and Tung Chung, have relayed to me that the districts in which they live lack public markets. For example, while the population of LOHAS Park in Tseung Kwan O together with its neighbouring housing estates has exceeded 30 000, there is no public market in that area. Residents there have to travel a long distance to buy fresh food and daily necessities. Also, the prices of such goods are often higher than those in other districts due to inadequate competition. On the other hand, some tenants and customers of public markets without air-conditioning systems have relayed to me that the unbearable swelter of these markets during summer turns people away and causes foodstuffs to decay easily. However, the threshold for retrofitting air-conditioning systems in these markets is very high, i.e. the Government will consider such works only when 85% or more of the tenants give their support. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of its major considerations in determining whether to provide permanent or temporary public markets in newly developed districts; whether it has any plan to provide a permanent or temporary public market in Tseung Kwan O Area 85, which is adjacent to LOHAS Park;
(2) whether it will amend the relevant planning criteria and provide more public markets in newly developed districts, so as to introduce competition and facilitate residents in buying fresh food and daily necessities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it has any plan to review the threshold for retrofitting air-conditioning systems in existing public markets, and devise a fairer method for sharing air-conditioning costs, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
At present, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) manages 101 public markets, including 76 public markets which mainly sell fresh provisions and other dry and wet goods, as well as 25 free-standing cooked food markets. The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT) and the Housing Authority each manages 90 and 20 market venues respectively. Other than these, there exists a good number of private markets, supermarkets and fresh provision shops run by private operators. In addition to the some 2 600 stalls in public markets selling fresh provisions such as fish, meat and poultry, there are currently around 2 700 licensed fresh provision shops (including those in supermarkets) which offer choices to consumers.
According to the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, apart from the population of the area in question, the Administration would take into consideration other relevant factors. These include the demographic mix, community needs, the provision of public and private market facilities nearby, the number of fresh provision retail outlets in the vicinity, and the public sentiment towards the preservation of hawker areas. The Planning Department will consult the relevant policy bureaux and government departments, including the FEHD, when preparing or reviewing town plans to ascertain whether there is a need to reserve land for public markets.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) Building a new public market involves both land and public money. Before determining whether a market should be built, the Government would have to duly assess the demand for the market and the question of cost effectiveness, for the purpose of ensuring that public resources are put to proper use. Specifically, factors that are taken into account include the population of the area in question, the demographic mix, the community needs, the provision of public and private market facilities nearby, and the number of fresh provisions retail outlets in the vicinity.
We have looked at the situation in Tseung Kwan O. At present, six markets managed by the Link REIT and four private markets exist in Tseung Kwan O. They are located in major public or private housing estates and shopping venues. There are 27 shopping malls, 24 supermarkets and about 130 fresh provisions shops. Different areas in the district are connected to each other by various modes of transport. This helps facilitate the shopping activities of local residents. According to experience, the stall vacancy rate of a new market will be relatively high if the products and services provided are similar to those of existing traders who have been operating in the district for a long time.
Even in the case of a temporary market, the Administration has to put in a sizeable amount of resources to provide basic facilities such as ceiling, stall partition, electrical installation, water supply and sewerage systems, ventilation, lighting system, fire-fighting system, toilets and refuse storage chamber. Hence, the Government has not developed any new temporary market in recent years. Most of the existing temporary markets are provided to resite hawkers who would otherwise be trading on-street causing environmental nuisance and obstructing pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The last temporary market development project, comprising the Nam Cheong Street Temporary Market and Tung Chau Street Temporary Market, was carried out by the former Urban Council in the early 1990s. These markets were used to accommodate on-street hawkers selling wet goods in Sham Shui Po and tenants of the former Sham Shui Po Market. In the latter case, the purpose was to vacate the site for developing the present Pei Ho Street Market.
On account of the above considerations, the Administration has no plan to provide a permanent or temporary public market in Tseung Kwan O Area 85 at present.
(2) The above requirements in the "Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines" pertaining to the planning of public markets have been in use since they were last updated in 2009. As to the requests for providing new public markets in individual districts, we will continue to closely monitor the local situation as well as listen to the views of stakeholders and assess the need to review the planning guidelines for public markets as and when appropriate. We will carefully consider the various relevant factors, including those set out in the planning standards and in part (1) of the reply, before deciding on the provision of any new public market in a certain district.
(3) Following the existing practice, a request for installation of air-conditioning system at a public market will first be discussed at the meeting of the relevant Market Management Consultative Committee (MMCC). Where there is a consensus among members of the MMCC that the request should be further explored, the FEHD will conduct a questionnaire survey to gauge the extent of support from market tenants for the request. If 85% or more of the tenants support the proposal, the Administration will conduct a detailed technical feasibility study. Taking into consideration the findings of the study, the extent of works required, cost effectiveness, length of business disruption and tenants' views, the Administration will decide whether there is a case for bidding resources for the installation of air-conditioning systems.
When the air-conditioning system is being installed, a public market would have to be enclosed. After installation, the system has to be turned on all year round for adequate ventilation. All tenants will have to pay for the recurrent expenses, including the electricity charges and general maintenance costs for the whole year, and not just during the summer months. Any tenant who refuses to pay these charges will have to move out of the public market. The additional operating cost related to the air-conditioning system is a factor that existing tenants had not taken into account when they bid for their public market stalls.
Secondly, the provision of air-conditioning systems often involves partial or complete closure of the public market for as long as several months depending on the circumstances, disrupting business and affecting the livelihood of tenants. In one case, all the stalls of a market-cum-cooked food centre had to cease business for around six months for the installation of air-conditioning system. The business cessation period may even be longer in more complicated cases. Tenants who do not support the installation of air-conditioning system will also be affected. The threshold that must be met in order to support a decision in favour of the installation of air-conditioning system should not be too low. Otherwise, disputes may proliferate.
I understand the concern of Dr Hon Quat about the propriety of the existing threshold relating to the provision of air-conditioning system. I wish to stress that regardless of where we pitch the threshold, it could hardly please everybody. When considering whether to adjust the existing arrangement, apart from the technical feasibility and resources implications, we have to take into account the demand of tenants who would like to install air-conditioning system, as well as make allowance for arrangements meeting the interests of those tenants who do not support the installation but have been running business in the public market concerned for many years. In a nutshell, we have to be very cautious if we are going to review the 85% threshold. We need to reiterate that in the formulation and review of public policies, we have to strike a proper balance among the interests of various stakeholders in a responsible manner.
As for the calculation of air-conditioning charges, after taking over public markets from the two former municipal councils, the Administration reviewed the arrangements for recovery of air-conditioning charges in public markets and considered that separate charging of rental and air-conditioning charges was more in line with the "user pays" principle. According to the existing practice, the Government is responsible for the capital costs of installing the air-conditioning systems, and, unlike the usual arrangement adopted by commercial landlords, we will not recover the capital costs from tenants through subsequent rental adjustments. The Government's policy is to have the recurrent expenses, including electricity charges and general maintenance costs, borne by market tenants. The recurrent expenses incurred by the provision of air-conditioning system will generally be borne by tenants pro rata, based on the floor area of their respective stalls. For vacant stalls, the relevant costs will be borne by the Government. This cost sharing method is consistent with that adopted for all other government rental properties.
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:12
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