Following is a question by Dr the Hon Chan Han-pan and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (September 25):
     
Question:

     It is learnt that since the commissioning of the Lift and Pedestrian Walkway System between Castle Peak Road and Kung Yip Street, Kwai Chung, two lifts of one of the lift towers (i.e. the lift tower connecting Shek Lei (I) Estate and Castle Peak Road) break down quite often. As the closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) of these two lifts have not been equipped with camera devices, it was impossible to determine whether the breakdowns involved human factors, and it was only until several months ago that camera systems were installed after repeated requests by residents. Regarding the management of lifts of pedestrian walkway systems, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has examined the specific causes of the frequent breakdowns of the aforesaid two lifts, including whether they involved the quality issues of lifts;

(2) as it is learnt that in the past, CCTVs installed by the Highways Department at lifts of footbridges and subways were not equipped with camera devices, of the reasons for that; and

(3) as there are view that the Government should install CCTVs equipped with camera devices at the lifts of all pedestrian walkway systems under its purview to prevent crimes, whether the Government will gradually implement the relevant proposal; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, of the measures in place to prevent crimes occurring in lifts?

Reply:

President,

     In consultation with the Highways Department (HyD) and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), my reply to various parts of the question raised by Dr the Hon Chan is as follows:

(1) To enhance the accessibility of hillside areas and facilitate public mobility, the Government constructs/installs a mix of pedestrian facilities, such as footbridges, subways, lifts, escalator links, etc, under the "Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems (HEL)" projects to strengthen the pedestrian connectivity between uphill and downhill areas.

     The Lift and Pedestrian Walkway System between Castle Peak Road and Kung Yip Street mentioned in the question was completed and commissioned in early 2024. During the initial stage of operation, two of the lifts experienced several malfunctions which primarily involved issues with lift door operation. The lift malfunctions necessitated suspension of service, causing inconvenience to the public, which was undesirable. Upon a thorough review by the HyD and the lift contractor, it was considered that most of the lift door malfunctions were caused by the accumulation of foreign objects. Subsequently, the HyD instructed the lift contractor to implement a series of measures, including conducting detailed re-inspections and tests on the lifts, replacing certain components, as well as enhancing the weekly routine inspection, repair and maintenance works, in particular stepping up the cleaning and sweeping of the lift door tracks and sensors. Over the past six months, there has been significant improvement in the performance of the lift operation. The HyD will continue to urge the contractor to perform thorough inspection and cleaning of the lifts to prevent further malfunctions of lift doors due to various factors such as accumulation of foreign objects.

     To reduce the inconvenience to the public caused by suspension of service of lifts due to the malfunction under jurisdiction of the HyD, we believe that innovative technology can be applied to assist contractors in identifying problems at an early stage and enabling rectification of problems, thereby enhancing the reliability of lift services. Regarding the two lifts at the Lift and Pedestrian Walkway System between Castle Peak Road and Kung Yip Street, which are of concern to Dr the Hon Chan, the HyD, in co-ordination with EMSD, will introduce an intelligent predictive maintenance system to the lifts for remote collection of lift operation data to identify faults and analyse the severity of potential issues, thereby enabling fault prediction and preventive maintenance. Ultimately, this will reduce the frequency of lift malfunctions and the time required for maintenance. The HyD will also work with the EMSD to consider applying this technology to other lifts with higher malfunction rates, with a view to enhancing the overall quality of lift services at public walkways in Hong Kong.

(2) and (3) Currently, there are approximately 600 lifts installed in public pedestrian walkways under the jurisdiction of HyD. All of them are equipped with emergency alarm and communication systems in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice on the Design and Construction of Lifts and Escalators (the Code) published by the EMSD to ensure the personal safety of the public. If members of the public encounter an emergency situation inside a lift car, they may press the emergency alarm button to immediately notify the lift contractor's emergency communication centre, enabling the staff to provide prompt and appropriate assistance.

     In addition, all the abovementioned lifts are equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) system together with the display of real-time footage from inside the lift cars on the screens installed on the external walls at the lift waiting areas in accordance with the Code. Should members of the public encounter an emergency inside the lift, rescue personnel and technicians can immediately assess the situation inside the lift cars through the display screens to provide assistance. Furthermore, the screens installed in lift waiting areas also allow the public to view the situation inside the lift cars in real time, thus enhancing the safety of members of public using the lifts, and, to a certain extent, helps prevent crimes from occurring inside the lifts.

     To retrofit the approximately 600 lifts mentioned above with CCTVs with recording functions, the HyD has to carry out mechanical and electrical equipment upgrading works for all lifts including replacement of CCTVs, installation of relevant surveillance systems, connection of wiring and signals, to ensure compliance with the information technology security requirements. As the modification works will entail substantial additional costs and increase the recurrent maintenance costs in long term, the HyD must fully consider the cost-effectiveness when assessing whether to install the CCTV systems with recording functions at the lifts at all public footbridges/walkways in Hong Kong. We have also conducted preliminary research and found that according to HyD's records, there has not been any incidents of suspected criminal damages to lift facilities under the HyD's jurisdiction in recent years, while the more common non-human factors causing lift malfunctions (such as accumulation of foreign objects at lift doors, moisture affecting the components, signal system issues, wear and tear of components, etc) are difficult to be captured by CCTVs. Therefore, the use of CCTV systems with recording capabilities would be of limited assistance in identifying the causes of lift malfunctions. In fact, the lift contractors can generally identify the causes of lift malfunctions through on-site inspections without relying on CCTV footage. However, having heard Dr the Hon Chan's views on this matter, and as I mentioned in my earlier reply to the question, we hope to adopt innovative technology wherever possible. If an individual lift is found to have relatively higher malfunction rate, we are very willing to and proactive in introducing the intelligent predictive maintenance system to the lift to achieve a greater effectiveness in enhancing the quality of lift service. In light of the above considerations, we have no immediate plans to introduce CCTV systems with recording capabilities to the approximately 600 lifts at the public walkways throughout Hong Kong. Instead, we will actively utilise technological innovation. For instance, the intelligent predictive maintenance system can make use of AI and data storage to enable fault prediction and preventive maintenance, offering greater functionality.

     Thank you, President.

Ends/Thursday, September 25, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:26

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