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    Following is the question by the Hon Wong Yung-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (July 6):

Question:

    The Government is planning to construct a landing facility, a pier or landing steps, in Lei Yue Mun to facilitate tourists in travelling by boat to the seafood restaurants in the district, and the locations under consideration include the seawall about 90 metres east of the lighthouse by the Lei Yue Mun Fairway.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a) it has consulted the fishing community and fishermen operating in nearby waters on the location of the facility; if so, of the results of the consultation; if not, the reasons for that, and whether these people will be consulted; if no consultation will be conducted, of the reasons for that; and

(b) the construction of the landing facility near the lighthouse will narrow the Lei Yue Mun Fairway; if so, of the measures it will take to avoid the collision of vessels on the fairway?

Reply:

Madam President,

    The Tourism Commission (TC) has since 2000 implemented a Tourist District Enhancement Programme in key tourist spots.  As Lei Yue Mun is a very popular tourist destination for both visitors and local residents, TC completed a number of minor improvement works there in 2003 to enhance its streetscape and tourist facilities.  

    To further leverage on Lei Yue Mun's strengths including its scenic waterfront and famous seafood cuisine, TC is planning a number of improvement works to further enhance the tourist facilities in Lei Yue Mun's waterfront area.  One of the proposals is to provide a new public landing facility to facilitate visitors' access by sea to the seafood restaurants in Lei Yue Mun and the nearby attractions such as the Tin Hau Temple.  The new landing facility needs to be able to accommodate sight-seeing vessels, convenient to visitors and near to the seafood restaurants and tourism attractions.  As the existing landing facility at Sam Ka Tsuen in Kwun Tong is located some distance away from the seafood restaurants, it has seldom been used by visitors or sight-seeing vessels.  

    As regards the proposed landing facility's impact on the fairway of Lei Yue Mun Channel, Civil Engineering and Development Department in conjunction with Marine Department have considered all factors carefully, the most important one being marine safety.  The proposed site near the lighthouse is located outside the fairway of Lei Yue Mun Channel.  It will not obstruct or affect the fairway, or reduce the fairway's navigational width.  On the contrary, to facilitate navigation and berthing of sight-seeing vessels, the construction works concerned will involve dredging in the foreshore and seabed area in the vicinity of the proposed landing facility, so that the navigational width in its vicinity will be extended by about 30 metres.  

    Enhancement of the Lei Yue Mun Waterfront is a tourism project.  The proposed landing facility is a part of the entire project which is at a preliminary planning stage.  As Lei Yue Mun is a major attraction in Kwun Tong, we submitted the framework of the proposal to Kwun Tong District Council (KTDC) in May this year for its initial views.  KTDC has expressed its support for the proposal and agreed that the most suitable location for constructing the proposed landing facility is to the east of the lighthouse.  Relevant departments are at present looking into the technical feasibility of the proposal.  If the proposal is confirmed to be technically feasible, we will proceed with the detailed design, marine traffic impact assessment and public consultation.  Funding approval from the Legislative Council will be required for the project to proceed.

Ends/Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Issued at HKT 14:21

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