****************************
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, at a media session after chairing an inter-departmental meeting today (October 29) to review contingency plans and relevant measures in response to the closure of the Kap Shui Mun Bridge after the collision of a vessel last Friday (October 23):
Reporter: Do you think the authorities have been neglecting the need for ferry transport to Lantau all these years and this is part of the reason for the traffic on Friday? Also, how difficult would it be to further shorten the time to activate the emergency ferry service to Lantau as you know it took them almost two hours to dispatch the first boat?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: First of all, I think looking back at the incident last Friday, we thought that the timing for raising the full alert, meaning that there is going to be a full closure of the bridge and therefore we have to kick-start all kinds of emergency measures, I think that timing could have been better managed. So if we could shorten the timing then therefore we could ask the contractor to provide emergency ferry service earlier. But of course even if such service could be provided earlier, we are only talking about maybe 15 minutes or 20 minutes earlier, but still we have to allow time for the contractor to mobilise the fleet. The contractor is not supposed to have an empty fleet being stationed on the sea every day to wait for an emergency situation. So it takes time for the contractor to mobilise the fleet, to organise the ferries, the crew. But under the contract, the contractor is committed to starting emergency ferry service within two hours after it is informed of the need to do so. That's the first one.
As far as the Government is concerned, based on today's discussion at the inter-departmental meeting, we think the most important thing is to prevent any such incident to happen again, because if you have another such incident, unavoidably the carrying capacity of so-called alternative transport would be more limited than the Tsing Ma Bridge. We have to accept that. And therefore the priority must be to prevent such incident from happening again and therefore we have to strengthen the patrol of the sea area around the bridge by the Marine Department. We have to make sure that the local vessels are fully aware of the restrictions. For Lantau Island, from day one, or even for the Hong Kong International Airport from day one, we know that the Tsing Ma Bridge, the Lantau Link is a very crucial link and that's why contingency plans have always been in place to cater for the extreme scenario of no land link. However, for the past almost 18 years we have not experienced any such full closure which means that the standing arrangements are by and large sufficient. But of course why last Friday we had this barge and tug boat, because of the boom on the barge touching on the bridge, that's something which has to be fully investigated. But even 10 years ago, the Government was aware of the need to provide an alternative, an additional land route to Lantau in order to improve the connectivity of Lantau. That's why there was the plan for Route 11 (should be Route 10) but that was not supported. Right now we are already constructing the Tuen Mun - Chek Lap Kok Link which will be completed in about three years' time. We are also starting to consider the need for a Route 11 which will connect Yuen Long and North Lantau. That's already on our drawing board for the first stage study consideration.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, October 29, 2015
Issued at HKT 17:08
NNNN
