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The following is a press statement by the Marine Department in response to a vehicular procession organised by waste paper recyclers at Kwun Tong Public Cargo Working Area today (September 10):
Public Cargo Working Areas (PCWAs) are public facilities at seafronts for various trades to handle cargoes like containers, bulk cargoes, general cargoes, commodities for the outlying islands, and recycling materials. At present, there are eight PCWAs in Hong Kong in which are 168 berths of different lengths. Operators should arrange for vessels of corresponding lengths to berth alongside the facility for operations.
From the PCWA management and berth allocation point of view, it has been the Government's policy to treat all operators of different trades impartially. Tendering exercises are conducted on a regular basis to allocate the berths.
To make way for the development of Kwun Tong Promenade, the Kwun Tong PCWA will be decommissioned upon the expiry of the present Berth Licence Agreements in 2011. To facilitate the closure of the PCWA, the Marine Department launched a voluntary relocation scheme in October 2008. Under this scheme, the affected operators, including the waste paper recyclers, after taking their own requirements and the situations of their operations into account, are free to apply for suitable vacant berths in other PCWAs so as to continue their operations. Since the launching of the scheme, a number of the operators affected by the closure of PCWAs have completed their relocation or are about to relocate. The Government hopes the affected operators can actively consider the scheme so as to relocate to other PCWAs and continue their operations.
Currently, there is adequate vacant berthing space at the Tuen Mun, Rambler Channel and Chai Wan PCWAs to accommodate the affected waste paper recyclers.
In respect of the request of the 12 waste paper recyclers to relocate en bloc to the Rambler Channel PCWA, the Government is of the view that there were no grounds to support the claim that the 12 waste paper recyclers must operate together at the same location. Moreover, the Rambler Channel PCWA is a very busy PCWA, and most of the berths have been allocated to operators of different trades. If the 12 recyclers move to this PCWA, some of the existing operators in the PCWA will be inevitably displaced in order to vacate the berths for the use of the waste paper recyclers, which will be unfair to operators of other trades.
The Government will continue to explore with the operators concerned feasible options to solve the problem and to encourage them to voluntarily relocate to vacant berths at other PCWAs and continue their operations.
For today's (September 10) vehicular procession, the Marine Department has facilitated the waste paper recyclers to express their views and allowed the vehicles participating in the procession to gather and start at the Kwun Tong PCWA, and most of the vehicles to disperse at the Chai Wan PCWA, in order to minimise the possible impact on the traffic flow in the vicinity and inconvenience to the public.
Ends/Friday, September 10, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:16
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