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LCQ5: HZMB marine works
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     Following is a question by the Hon Steven Ho and a reply by the Acting Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Yau Shing-mu, in the Legislative Council today (November 25):

Question:

     The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) is an important infrastructure project to link up the three places of Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macau. However, the HZMB project has been delayed repeatedly, and its completion date is not yet confirmed. Some fishermen have relayed to me that this project and other marine works not only have affected their fishing activities, but also posed hazards to the safety of vessels navigating at night as some works materials such as silt curtains have been left in the sea and become floating objects.  Furthermore, the Government currently will not increase the ex-gratia allowances (EGA) for fishermen in respect of project delays. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) how the relevant government departments currently monitor the works progress of the contractors of the HZMB project; whether the authorities will provide compensations to the fishermen affected by the delays of that project; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) as some fishermen have pointed out that the Government has failed to closely monitor the impacts of marine works on the fisheries industry and marine ecology, whether the Government has collected, before and after such works, data on the marine ecology and fisheries resources in the waters where marine works will be/have been carried out, so as to assess the impacts of such works more accurately; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will collect such data; whether it will strengthen the monitoring of marine works contractors to ascertain if they have securely fastened works materials such as silt curtains, so as to ensure the safe navigation of vessels; and

(3) given that delays in marine works will prolong the duration for which fishermen cannot carry out fishing activities in the waters concerned, whether the authorities will review the current system of EGA for fishermen, so as to grant additional EGA to fishermen affected by project delays?

Reply:

President,

     Our consolidated reply to Hon Steven Ho's question is as follows:

     Since the waters in Hong Kong do not belong to anybody, fishermen who lost their habitual fishing grounds due to marine works projects do not have legal rights over the waters where they habitually fish and they are not entitled to any statutory compensation. The Government, however, recognises that the affected fishermen may face a reduction in income and may incur extra expenses in relocating their activities to fishing grounds elsewhere. Therefore, the Government has put in place a mechanism to provide an ex-gratia allowance to affected fishermen who fulfil certain eligibility criteria on compassionate ground. An inter-departmental working group has also been set up to handle the relevant matters.

     The ex-gratia allowance payable to eligible fishermen affected by marine works projects is calculated on the basis of the notional value of fish catch from the affected area of marine works projects resulting in permanent loss of fishing grounds (mainly due to reclamation operations); and the notional value of fish catch from the affected area of marine works projects resulting in temporary loss of fishing grounds due to sand dredging or mud disposal operations, etc respectively.

     The Food and Health Bureau reviewed the mechanism in 2012, and obtained support from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on April 27 in the same year for a significant upward adjustment of the basis for calculating the ex-gratia allowance. According to the new calculation basis, the ex-gratia allowance payable in respect of marine works resulting in a permanent loss of fishing grounds is equivalent to the notional value of fish catch in the affected area for 11 years (rising from seven years) whereas the ex-gratia allowance payable in respect of marine works resulting in a temporary loss of fishing grounds is equivalent to the notional value of fish catch in the affected area for five years (rising from three years).

     In respect of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) related local projects (i.e. the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities, the Hong Kong Link Road and the Tuen Mun - Chek Lap Kok Link), the inter-departmental working group of the Government has adopted the revised basis to calculate the amount of ex-gratia allowance payable to eligible fishermen affected by the related works. After duly completing the registration of claims from fishermen affected, the working group has distributed the ex-gratia allowance to all eligible fishermen.

     Regarding supervision of the progress of the projects, the Highways Department (HyD) has appointed professional engineering consultants and their resident site staff to monitor the quality and progress of works. The HyD regularly reviews the quality and progress of the works with the consultants and contractors, and will closely monitor the implementation of the remaining works with a view to completing the projects as soon as possible.

     Prior to the construction of the HZMB related local projects, the HyD had conducted a professional and comprehensive environmental impact assessment in accordance with the requirements under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIAO). The results of the water quality impact assessment revealed that upon the implementation of the corresponding mitigation measures during construction (such as control of backfilling rate and installation of silt curtains, etc), the suspended solids in water would only be confined to the waters in the vicinity of the construction sites and have minimal impact on overall water quality. No unacceptable impact on water quality and the environment is anticipated during and after construction.

     At the same time, before construction of the projects, the HyD conducted a four-week water quality baseline monitoring in nearby waters in accordance with the requirements under the EIAO. The data collected on marine environment have been used to continuously assess the impact of the construction works on the environment. The results of the water quality baseline monitoring were used to derive the two indicators for monitoring the environment during construction, i.e. the "Action Levels" and "Limit Levels". If the water quality monitoring data exceeds the "Action Level", the contractor is required to carry out remedial actions to prevent the quality of the environment from deteriorating. If the water quality monitoring data exceeds the "Limit Level", the works shall not proceed without any appropriate remedial action being taken (including a critical review of the plants and working methods).

     According to the water quality monitoring data collected since the commencement of the concerned marine works, the Independent Environmental Checker appointed by the HyD has confirmed that the water quality at the waters within the works areas has not exhibited any significant change when compared with that before the commencement of marine works. According to the statutory requirements, the water quality monitoring data has been uploaded to the dedicated website of the Environmental Project Office for the HZMB Projects for public viewing. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Reports, upon the implementation of water quality mitigation measures, most of the potential impact on fisheries and maricultures could be avoided. The EIA Reports did not suggest other specific monitoring plans on fisheries other than monitoring of water quality.

     To provide maintenance of the silt curtains and ensure navigation safety of ships nearby, the contractors and resident site engineers of the consultants conduct daily joint inspections on the condition of silt curtains to ensure that they are properly fastened. The contractors have also carried out regular monthly maintenance to ensure that all silt curtains are functioning at its maximum effectiveness. Twenty four-hour hotlines are operated by the contractors and resident site engineers of the consultants. If fishermen or other offshore operators encounter any floating object suspected to be construction materials in the waters in the vicinity of the construction sites, they could immediately dial the hotlines or 1823 to facilitate immediate follow-up actions.

     Since the commencement of the HZMB related local projects in end 2011, the HyD has received a total of four inquiries or complaints related to silt curtains which all occurred between mid-2013 and early 2014. The HyD immediately instructed the resident site engineers and contractors to send staff to conduct on-site inspection and follow up, and the cases were properly handled. The HyD has not received similar inquiries or complaints over the past 20 months.

Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:23

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