Daily Information Bulletin
Issued by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Information Services
Garden Road, 5th-8th Floors, Murray Building, Hong Kong. Tel: 2842 8777



Sunday, March 22, 1998



CONTENTS
========
1. Update on cholera
2. Works Bureau organises large scale seminar in the Mainland
3. Lands Department moves to North Point Offices
4. ACP Exhibition Centre temporarily closed
5. Collection frequency of NT street posting boxes increased
6. Public urged to save water
7. Blankets for street sleepers



1. Update on cholera
   *****************

     The Department of Health has not received any
suspected cases of cholera today (Sunday).

     The updated cholera situation is the same as
yesterday.  The total number of confirmed cholera cases so
far this year remains at 48, including 32 imported cases
and 16 local cases.  There is no suspected case.

End


2. Works Bureau organises large scale seminar in the Mainland
   **********************************************************

     The Works Bureau of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region and the Design Administration Bureau
of the Ministry of Construction will jointly organise a
large scale seminar on Construction, Architectural and
Engineering Design and Management and Enterprise Co-
operation Exchange in Qingdao between March 25 and 27,
1998.

     The aim of the three-day seminar is to facilitate the
Hong Kong and Mainland professional bodies and trade
associations to exchange views on their practising
standards so as to enhance co-operations between the two
places.

     The Secretary for Works, Mr Kwong Hon-sang, will lead
a delegation consisting of professionals, consultants and
contractors to take part in the seminar which will be
attended by officials of the Ministry of Construction as
well as senior representatives from major provinces and
cities in the Mainland.

     A Works Bureau spokesman said: "A similar seminar on
engineering standards was held for the first time in
Beijing last April.  The local professional bodies are
keen to build on the success to step up co-operation with
their mainland counterparts."

     Topics to be discussed in the 1998 seminar will
include regulations and administrative practices;
qualifications and standards of professionals and
enterprises; registration of professionals and
enterprises; role and function of professional bodies and
trade associations; auditing of large scale project and
management of risks through contract insurance and
professional indemnity insurance.

     The seminar will be co-organised by the Practice
Qualification Registration Centre of the Ministry of
Construction, the Qingdao Municipal Construction
Commission and the Architectural Society of China, The
Hong Kong Institute of Architects, The Hong Kong
Institution of Engineers, The Hong Kong Institute of
Landscape Architects, The Hong Kong Institute of Planners,
The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, as well as The Hong
Kong Construction Association Ltd, The Electrical and
Mechanical Contractors Association Ltd, and The
Association of Consultant Engineers of Hong Kong.

     The Hong Kong delegation will also visit
infrastructure developments in Shandong Province while in
the Mainland.

End


3. Lands Department moves to North Point Offices
   *********************************************

     The Lands Department's Headquarters and several
offices will operate in new premises from 18th to 24th
floors, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road,
North Point from tomorrow (Monday).

     These offices are the Lands Administration Office
(LAO), the Survey and Mapping Office (SMO) and the Legal
Advisory and Conveyancing Office (LACO).  Their telephone
and facsimile numbers are as follows:

                             Tel. No.             Fax. No.

     * Headquarters          2231 3294           2868 4707

     * Lands Administration
       Office (LAO)          2525 6694           2116 0764
                             2231 3369(complaints)

     * Survey and Mapping
       Office (SMO)          2231 3817           2521 8726

     * Legal Advisory and
       Conveyancing Office
       (LACO)                2231 3740           2845 1017

     The LAO, which includes 14 District Lands Offices and
the Valuation Section, is responsible for land disposal,
land acquisition, lease enforcement and the management of
unallocated government land.

     The SMO provides land survey services for land
administration purposes such as land sale.  It defines and
records the boundaries of land developments and manages a
computerised land information system.

     The LACO provides professional legal services to the
Government for all government land transactions and
associated matters.  It also processes applications for
the sale of units in uncompleted buildings under the
Consent Scheme.

     Details on the department's work can be obtained from
its Homepage on the Internet.  The web site is:
www.info.gov.hk/landsd/.

End


4. ACP Exhibition Centre temporarily closed
   ****************************************

     The Airport Core Programme Exhibition Centre in
Castle Peak Road, Ting Kau, and the adjacent car park will
be closed from 2 pm on Wednesday (March 25) afternoon for
community activities.

     The exhibition centre normally opens from 10 am to
5 pm.

     During the closure of the Exhibition Centre from 2 pm
to 5 pm on that day, the public can visit the Lantau Link
Visitors Centre at the North West Tsing Yi Interchange
which provides a vantage point for viewing the Tsing Ma
Bridge.

End


5. Collection frequency of NT street posting boxes increased
   *********************************************************

     The Postmaster General, Mr Robert Footman, announced
today (Sunday) that with effect from March 30, the
collection frequency of all street posting boxes in the
New Territories currently receiving one mail collection a
day, except a few which are located in very remote areas,
will be increased to two collections a day.  The times of
collection are shown on the time-plate of each posting
box.

     "With this additional mail collection, the service
standard provided to mail items posted at the New
Territories will be brought in line with those posted in
the urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon.  This reflects
Hongkong Post's continuous efforts to provide better
service and to meet the changing needs of our customers,"
said Mr Footman.

End


6. Public urged to save water
   **************************

     To commemorate the United Nations World Water Day
today (March 22), the Water Supplies Department (WSD) made
an appeal to the public to save water.

     "Water is scarce and its resource development is
important to economic productivity and social well-being,"
a spokesman for the department said.

     As part of the department's continuous effort in
promoting water conservation, 21 Estate Management
Advisory Committees at public housing estates have been
invited,with the assistance of the Housing Department, to
the Sha Tin Treatment Works today to see for themselves
the stringent quality control measures adopted by the WSD.

     "They will be shown the various stages of the potable
water treatment process," the spokesman said.

     "Schools and other organisations are welcome to visit
our treatment works to learn more about our work.
Arrangements can be made by calling our Customer Relations
Unit at 2829 5664," he added.

End


7. Blankets for street sleepers
   ****************************

     Staff of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) last
(Saturday) night distributed a total of 254 blankets to
street sleepers in a territory-wide operation during the
cold weather.

     Of the total, 85 were distributed on Hong Kong
Island, 18 in East Kowloon, 116 in West Kowloon, 27 in New
Territories East and eight in New Territories West.

     At the same time, the departmental hotline extended
its service overnight to render assistance and advice to
those in need.

     During the period between 10 pm yesterday and 9 am
today, 23 calls relating to 11 cases requesting help
during the cold spell were handled.  In response to the
calls, SWD staff also reached out to offer assistance to
the people in need.

End





Government Home Page News Update