Following is a question by the Hon Holden Chow and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, in the Legislative Council today (February 4):

Question:

     Some members of the public have relayed that weeds often grow along pavement edges and between paving blocks, affecting hygiene and the cityscape, and it is learnt that various government departments currently engage outsourced contractors to regularly clear weeds on the roads within their purview. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the current number and list of outsourced contractors engaged by the Government to handle weeds along roads and streets across the territory; the mechanism put in place by the relevant government departments to monitor the work performance and effectiveness of these outsourced contractors;

(2) of the number of outsourced contractors mentioned in (1) that were penalised for failing to meet performance standards in the past five years, with a tabulated breakdown by district for which they are responsible (broken down by the 18 districts across the territory);

(3) whether the authorities have allocated additional resources to individual outsourced contractors in the past five years to assist them in enhancing weed clearance; if so, of the effectiveness of the relevant projects, with a tabulated breakdown by district for which outsourced contractors are responsible (broken down by the 18 districts across the territory); and

(4) whether it has considered using innovative technologies (such as drones) to conduct regular inspections of weed blackspots on streets, so as to assist the authorities in identifying the relevant problems more expeditiously and enhancing clearance efforts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,
     
     Vegetation alongside public footpaths is maintained (including carrying out appropriate pruning and weed clearance) by different government departments or private lot owners in accordance with the division of labour in the Development Bureau Technical Circular (Works) No. 6/2015 depending on the type of vegetation concerned (i.e. trees or other vegetation) and the category of land on which the vegetation is located. The relevant departments or lot owners shall arrange timely pruning of vegetation under their purview and weed clearance in order to prevent excessive growth of vegetation encroaching upon footpaths, thus adversely affecting pedestrians.

     In consultation with the Highways Department (HyD), Lands Department (LandsD) and Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), my reply to the various parts of the question raised by the Hon Holden Chow is as follows:

(1) and (2) The HyD currently engages contractors to carry out repair and maintenance work for the public roads across all districts of Hong Kong, including carrying out urgent trimming of vegetation extending from general roadside areas into footpaths where it poses imminent danger to pedestrians, as well as clearing weeds at footpath paving blocks (a list of contractors is at Annex I).

     The HyD has stipulated in each contract that the contractor is obliged to conduct at least one monthly inspection of all footpaths covered by the contract and complete necessary repair and maintenance work, including clearing weeds from the pavement as required, and submit site photos taken before and after the follow-up work for record. Although the HyD has not set any performance pledge for urgent trimming of vegetation posing imminent danger to pedestrians, the department will promptly arrange follow-up action upon receipt of any enquiry or complaint about matters posing imminent danger to pedestrians or roads, and provide a reply within seven working days. If contractor fails to complete the relevant work properly and submit the relevant report on time, the HyD will issue a Default Notice to the contractor and deduct the corresponding contract payment in accordance with the relevant contractual mechanism.

     Over the past five years, the HyD has taken appropriate follow-up actions in accordance with relevant contract provisions upon identification of deficiencies in contractors' maintenance work on footpaths (e.g. issuing Default Notices to contractors with unsatisfactory performance). However, as such follow-up actions were related to various types of maintenance deficiencies, the HyD has not separately maintained statistics specifically concerning the follow-up actions related to the quality of weed clearance work at footpaths.

     On the other hand, the LandsD is responsible for the management of trees and plants (collectively referred to as "vegetation"), including weed clearance, on unleased and unallocated government land (UUGL) not under the routine management and maintenance of any government departments. Given the large number and wide distribution of trees and vegetation on UUGL across Hong Kong, the LandsD will only carry out maintenance work as necessary (such as upon receipt of complaints or referrals) having regard to public safety and public hygiene on a "risk-based" approach (for example, whether there is an immediate threat to life or property or a risk of mosquito infestation). Weed clearance is part of the LandsD's overall vegetation management work and a list of contractors engaged for vegetation maintenance is at Annex II.

     The LandsD's contractors shall, within specified days upon receiving a complaint/referral concerning overgrown grass, issue an acknowledgement to the complainant, then conduct a site inspection and submit a report. The department will arrange clearance operations based on the actual circumstances and operational priorities (generally prioritising removal and trimming of trees that pose higher risks). The department also strives to complete weed clearance within two months upon receipt of a case. In the past two years, all 5 256 cases involving weed clearance were completed within two months, and no contractors were penalised for failing to meet the performance standards.

     In addition, the LCSD has two types of contracts that cover weed clearance, namely the Horticultural Maintenance Services Contract and the Undergrowth Cutting Services Contract. The list of service contractors for these contracts is at Annex III.

     The LCSD has established different contractual requirements based on the needs and nature of horticultural maintenance work, such as requiring contractors to submit work reports with photos to prove that the contractors have completed the work and met the contract requirements. In addition, supervisory personnel of the LCSD will conduct regular on-site inspections, surprise checks, and meetings with contractors to monitor the performance of the contractors and their employees. If a contractor fails to meet the contract requirements, the LCSD will issue Advisory Letters, Default Notices, or even terminate the contract in accordance with the contract terms, depending on the circumstances.

     Over the past five years, the LCSD has not imposed any disciplinary measures on contractors for the weed-cutting service contract due to substandard performance. As for the horticultural maintenance contracts, the number of contractors penalised for failing to meet the contract requirements is as follows (Note):
 

Year	No. of Contractor
2020-2021	0
2021-2022	2
2022-2023	1
2023-2024	2
2024-2025	4

Note: The penalties are based on contracts as the unit. Hence, breakdown by district cannot be provided.

(3) As mentioned above, weed clearance work is part of the regular duties of the relevant departments. Consequently, no additional financial resources have been allocated for this purpose.

(4) Government departments are open to utilising innovative technologies (such as unmanned aircraft) to assist in monitoring work and will consider their appropriate application in carrying out inspections for the black spots with weeds on streets, taking into account the resources involved and their practical effectiveness.

     In particular, the HyD has been striving to enhance the repair and maintenance of public roads through the use of innovative technologies. With a view to improving inspection efficiency and accuracy, the HyD has developed the Road Defect Detection System (RDDS), which integrates geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI), high-resolution cameras and photogrammetric technologies. Road inspection vehicles equipped with the RDDS can automatically identify road surface cracks and faded road markings. The HyD is pressing ahead with the enhancement and upgrading of the system, and will incorporate a more advanced artificial intelligence algorithm known as the "Vision Transformer" in the next-generation system, thereby substantially improving the accuracy and processing speed of image recognition, while expanding detection capabilities to cover matters such as excessive roadside vegetation growth. The HyD will alert the relevant department(s) to step up vegetation trimming and weed clearance, or follow up with the relevant lot owners as appropriate once frequent occurrence of roadside vegetation overgrowth is observed, so as to prevent situations that may affect pedestrian safety.

Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Issued at HKT 12:20

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