Speech by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands,
Mr Bowen Leung, during the Special Finance Committee Meeting
to examine the draft Estimates of Expenditure 1998/99

Thursday, March 5, 1998


Mr Chairman,

As Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, I have the responsibility for formulating and co-ordinating policies for programmes in two policy areas - Buildings, Lands and Planning and Environmental Protection.

2. The delivery of services and enforcement of regulations under these policy areas are undertaken by 11 departments under the charge of their Controlling Officers. I have with me this morning the Controlling Officers of some of these departments.

3. We made considerable progress last year, particularly on initiatives to increase land supply for housing, and to speed up the planning process, measures to improve building safety, conservation and environmental protection. I shall highlight the main areas of our work last year and some of the work we plan to undertake in 1998-99.

4. Looking first at Land Administration, in July 1997 we announced the first five-year Land Disposal Programme. Under this programme, we made plans to dispose of 690 hectares of land for public and private housing between 1997-98 and 2001-02. We are now working on the second five-year Land Disposal Programme and will announce it later this month.

5. To meet the housing supply targets, we will be seeking the creation of 23 new posts for the Lands Department to deal with land acquisition, disposal and control.

6. The Lands Department will also seek to expedite non-development clearance in the New Territories and undertake the maintenance responsibility for man-made slopes on unallocated Government land. We are seeking the creation of 14 posts for each of these initiatives.

7. In addition, Lands Department will create 124 additional posts under the policy areas of Secretary for Housing and Secretary for Transport for work related to implementation of the flat production programme and related infrastructural projects.

8. Moving on to Town Planning, the Town Planning (Amendment) Bill 1998 was introduced into the Provisional Legislative Council on 11 February 1998 with the aim of speeding up the planning process by imposing a nine-month statutory time limit for resolving objections to draft town plans, road and other infrastructure projects. We shall be seeking the creation of 18 new posts to implement measures in the Town Planning Bill.

9. We shall shortly release the Territorial Development Strategy Review Final Executive Report as a broad planning framework to guide the development of Hong Kong into the next century. Planning of major development schemes recommended by the TDSR, especially those related to medium-term housing and infrastructural development, are already under way.

10. As a follow up to the TDSR, three integrated planning and development studies - on North West New Territories, North East New Territories and Hong Kong Island South and Lamma Island - have recently been commissioned to examine the scope for accommodating strategic growth needs in these areas.

11. We have commenced the Stages 1 and 2 Investigations of the Crosslinks Further Study to assess the implications for Hong Kong of the Lingdingyang Bridge and the Shenzhen - Hong Kong Western Corridor. Stage 1 of the Study will assess the cross-boundary traffic demand, while Stage 2 will examine the environmental and ecological impacts, land-use planning, land acquisition, economic/financial viability and preliminary engineering feasibility and design.

12. The Consultancy Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century commenced in September 1997. The study will examine how a sustainable development system can be achieved in Hong Kong, and we aim to complete it by the turn of the century.

13. We shall be seeking the creation of 29 posts in the Planning Department to manage these consultancy studies, to speed up the restructuring of old industrial areas for development for commercial and residential uses and to speed up the processing of development proposals and implementation of development/housing projects.

14. The Planning Department will also create 27 additional posts under the policy areas of Secretary for Housing and Secretary for Transport for initiatives related to the housing production programme.

15. Building Safety has been a priority area for us. We will be seeking the creation of 30 posts for the Buildings Department to cope with work arising from the Building Safety Inspection Scheme. For enforcement action against dangerous canopies and appendages on the exterior of buildings, we will be seeking the creation of 10 posts for the Buildings Department to form a dedicated task force. In addition, the Buildings Department will also need 17 posts for extending the fast-track mechanism for plan processing to cover smaller development projects.

16. We shall be seeking the Finance Committee's approval later this month to set up a Building Safety Improvement Fund. This fund will offer loans to owners of buildings to carry out maintenance and improvement works to the common parts of buildings as a means of ensuring structural safety and extending the life of buildings.

17. With regard to Urban Renewal, we are firming up detailed proposals for setting up the Urban Renewal Authority. We aim to introduce an Urban Renewal Authority Bill into the Legislative Council by the end of the year.

18. We have formulated new legislation to facilitate private sector participation in expediting urban renewal, through the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Bill , which was recently introduced into the Provisional Legislative Council.

19. We are currently undertaking an Urban Renewal Strategy Study which will provide a comprehensive framework to guide urban renewal efforts and to identify projects to be undertaken by the URA once it is established. The Study will be completed by August this year.

20. On Flood Prevention we completed works for Stage I of the Shenzhen River Regulation Project in April 1997, one month ahead of schedule. Stage II works are in progress, and are scheduled for completion by the end of 2000.

21. We will start work on several long-term flood prevention projects in North West and North New Territories in 1998. These include river training works in Shan Pui River and the lower and middle reaches of the Kam Tin River, Indus River and Beas River.

22. We are seeking 17 additional posts for the Drainage Services Department to implement recommendations for improving and upgrading the stormwater drainage systems in Tuen Mun, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing, to provide professional advice and support to the development of new sites for housing and priority railway projects and for the management and maintenance of capital works projects.

23. Turning to Conservation, a study to develop a comprehensive conservation strategy and management plan for the Mai Po Ramsar site was completed in March 1997. We support in principle the recommendations of the study and are seeking the creation of 12 new posts in the Agriculture and Fisheries Department for the protection and conservation of the site. We have also earmarked funds of $4.2 million to create a new block vote for the department to carry out conservation and management projects as recommended by the study.

24. We have also earmarked $8 million for the Agriculture and Fisheries Department to commission a two-year study related to conservation of the Finless Porpoise in Hong Kong.

25. In 1998 we aim to designate Ma Shi Chau (58 ha) as a special area and Lung Fu Shan (46 ha) as a country park. We shall be seeking 12 new posts for the management of the proposed Lung Fu Shan Country Park.

26. We will work towards more efficient management of country parks by providing resources for more contracting out of litter collection and grass cutting. In doing so, there will be a saving of 50 posts.

27. Mr Chairman, I shall now move on to talk about our work in the area of Environmental Protection.

28. We shall bring the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Ordinance into operation on 1 April this year. This Ordinance will provide a statutory framework to ensure the proper evaluation of the environmental impact of development projects at the earliest possible stage and the satisfactory implementation of the necessary prevention and mitigation measures to protect the environment. The EIA process will become more clear, transparent and accountable to the public in order to better safeguard the well-being of the community and protect the environment.

29. On Air Pollution, we have launched a trial of Liquefied Petroleum Gas taxis to test their reliability and to obtain information on the operational requirements for these vehicles in the local environment. If the trial scheme is successful, we will aim to switch the entire taxi fleet to LPG as soon as possible. We will also examine the feasibility of extending LPG technology to other classes of diesel vehicle, such as public light buses, small school buses and vans.

30. For diesel vehicles, we will introduce stringent emission standards for new private diesel cars and light duty diesel vehicles in 1998. In addition, we will consider introducing new vehicle smoke testing technology to test the emission of diesel vehicles, as well as examining the feasibility of emission testing of in-use petrol vehicles.

31. We are setting up three new air quality monitoring stations, including two roadside stations, at Causeway Bay, Central and Chai Wan. Another monitoring station will be set up at Tap Mun in the coming year. We shall be seeking the creation of 5 new posts in the Environmental Protection Department for the management of these new stations and the air quality modelling system.

32. As part of our Noise Control measures, the use of noisy percussive piling hammers in the urban areas will be phased out progressively, starting in April 1998. They will be replaced by quieter alternatives, such as hydraulic hammers. We are also conducting a feasibility study of retrofitting noise abatement measures on existing roads. Based on the findings of the study, we will review existing policy for dealing with traffic noise.

33. With regard to Water Pollution, our main focus is on the extension and upgrading of the sewerage network and the implementation of the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme. The Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works, a key element of the Scheme, was commissioned in May 1997. We shall decide shortly on the final location of the outfall of the SSDS, based on the environmental impact assessment which will be completed later in the year.

34. To deal with Floating Refuse, two of the six new specialised refuse collection vessels that we have ordered were delivered in January 1998 and immediately put into service to collect the floating refuse in Long Harbour (west of Tap Mun Island) following the sinking of a Chinese container vessel there. These two vessels have proven to be very efficient, especially when operating in open areas under adverse weather condition. Another two new vessels will be delivered later this year and the remaining two in mid-1999.

35. From 1 July 1997, all livestock farms in Hong Kong have been brought under the Livestock Waste Control Scheme . Tighter discharge standards are being implemented in stages. As a result of the implementation of the Scheme, livestock waste pollution load discharged to rivers and streams has been reduced by an amount equivalent to a population of 190,000 in 1997. We shall further review and assess the effectiveness of the scheme in improving the water quality of the streams and rivers of the New territories.

36. To improve Energy Efficiency and Conservation, an Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme for compact fluorescent lamps will be launched by the end of this year. We will also implement the lighting and air-conditioning codes for buildings, as well as other building energy management measures in selected Government buildings. In addition, we shall engage consultants in September 1998 to conduct a preliminary study of the feasibility of promoting water-cooled air-conditioning systems for commercial developments.

37. Mr. Chairman, that concludes my summary of our work over the past year and the year ahead. The Controlling Officers and I will be happy to answer any questions Members may have.