Transcript of remarks by STH
****************************
Reporter: At this point in time do you have an exact schedule on when will the Phases 2 & 3 be held? Can you tell us more about the de-contamination work?
Secretary for Transport and Housing: We don't have a timetable as yet because it all depends on how long the various arrangements for transport, for electricity supply, for handling sewage, all these facilities will take time. In particular, we need time to deal with various environmental problems, including the provision of mitigation measures. And, because of the area involving very extensive brownfield operations and some of these operations have environmental impact implications, and the location is close to the Yuen Long Industrial Estate, so you can imagine the extent of the environmental issues that we have to deal with, including decontamination when we take over the land.
Brownfield operations, of course, are not just any operations. Some of them are important to our economy, such as those logistic industries, and logistic activities such as waste-recycling. Some of these are port back-up activities. So we have to be very careful. We have to have a good strategy in re-provisioning some of these activities. But as the Chief Executive has reiterated some time ago, developing Phases 2 & 3 of Wang Chau is still part of the government agenda and we are soon to commission a more detailed study on how to deal with the brownfield operations.We are going to take the two phases forward as soon as we have prepared ourselves on measures to deal with those problems that I have just mentioned.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, October 24, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:50
Issued at HKT 14:50
NNNN