Regarding media enquiries made yesterday (July 2) on a news report about water leakage previously found at the basement of the Passenger Clearance Building (PCB) at the Hong Kong Port (HKP) of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), the Highways Department (HyD) today (July 3) responded as follows:
      
     The basement of the PCB at the HKP of the HZMB does not only house the electrical and mechanical equipment for the PCB, but also accommodates the district cooling system for the HKP. The district cooling system supplies chilled sea water via underground conduits to the air conditioning systems of the building cluster in the vehicle clearance plaza, so as to achieve the energy saving objective. Therefore, it is a reasonable arrangement to house the plant room of the PCB at its basement.

     Soon after the contractor and the HyD's resident site staff discovered the leakage problem at the PCB in early 2018, they had swiftly followed up the issue and arranged rectification works. According to the records kept by the resident site staff of the consultant appointed by the HyD, after the structural and fitting-out works of the PCB were completed, some underground cable ducts had not been sealed up timely after cable installation, thus leading to leakage of rainwater into the basement via these ducts on April 15, 2018. The contractor had subsequently rectified the problem by properly sealing up the relevant ducts. After recent rainstorms, including the amber rainstorm yesterday (July 2), the HyD has not observed any noticeable water leakage during site inspections at the basement of the PCB.    

     As regards the news report about smoke emission from the pillar box, the incident occurred on June 20, 2018 according to the records. During testing and commissioning for the PCB, the resident site staff found that there had been smoke emission from the pillar box of the air conditioning system. The incident was believed to have been caused by malfunctioning of a component, leading to over-heating of the equipment and subsequently smoke emission. The contractor has completed the rectification works for the malfunctioned component and the system is currently in normal operation. The HyD emphasised that this incident of smoke emission from the pillar box and the earlier water leakage incident at the basement are two independent incidents which are completely unrelated to each other.

     The PCB is undergoing testing and commissioning at present. The HyD will strictly conduct the testing and commissioning with a view to ensuring that the works would only pass the acceptance procedures if their qualities meet the required standards.
      
     For the present conditions inside the PCB basement, please refer to the photographs attached.

    

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) co-hosted a series of events in The Hague, the Netherlands, on June 29 (The Hague time) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Netherlands Hong Kong Business Association (NHKBA) and commend Hong Kong's Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag for completing the Volvo Ocean Race. The team was the first from Hong Kong to enter the round-the-world sailing race, and tributes were paid during the events to the late teammate John Fisher.

     The events were jointly organised by HKETO, Brussels; the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; Invest Hong Kong; and the NHKBA. The first was a business seminar with two themes, namely the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development and circular economy. In her welcoming remarks at the business seminar, the Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Miss Fiona Chau, said that aspirations for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area development are very high. "Within the Bay Area, we will work with each other to achieve a win-win situation, and the key co-operation areas in the Bay Area will include infrastructure connectivity in order to achieve a living circle that is very convenient for people; market integration, whether in trade, commerce, financial services or investment; and in technology and innovation," Miss Chau said.
      
     She added that the aspiration to build an international innovation and technology hub in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area on par with, or even exceeding, Silicon Valley stems from the complementarity of the three places. Hong Kong has very strong research and development capacity with four universities in the world's top 100, while Shenzhen has advanced manufacturing capability and other cities in the Bay Area are also boosting manufacturing and electronic production capacity. Dutch companies are welcome to partner with Hong Kong in seizing the opportunities of this very important Bay Area, Miss Chau said.
      
     To tie in with the Volvo Ocean Race's support of clean seas, the business seminar also looked at how Dutch, Hong Kong and Mainland companies can prepare for the circular economy, a new economic model in which waste generation is minimised, and the value of products, materials and resources is maintained for as long as possible.   
      
     One of the speakers at the business seminar was the General Manager of Keppel Seghers, Mr Ivan Christiaens. The Belgian engineering firm will, in a joint venture, construct integrated waste management facilities at an island in Hong Kong. The project will be capable of producing enough green energy for 100,000 households and help to reduce Hong Kong's carbon emissions by 440,000 tonnes per annum.
      
     The business seminar was followed by a cocktail reception and a dinner, both attended by crew members of Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, which was supported by Brand Hong Kong. In January 2018, Hong Kong was a host city for the first time in the Volvo Ocean Race's 44-year history. The Volvo Ocean Race has provided a good opportunity for Hong Kong to showcase its vibrancy and cosmopolitan aspects as Asia's world city to visitors to the Scallywag Team Base at each of the 12 stopover locations, including the stopover in Hong Kong and the finish at The Hague. Speaking at the dinner, Miss Chau commended the Hong Kong team for its determination to finish the Volvo Ocean Race in honour of their late teammate and friend John Fisher. The team's accomplishments have reflected the "never give up" spirit of Hong Kong in facing difficult times and challenges, she said.

        

     Police today (July 3) appealed to the public for information on a woman who went missing in Tin Sum.
 
     Siu Lai-yee, aged 39, went missing after she left her residence in Hin Keng Estate on June 19 afternoon. Her family made a report to Police on the next day (June 20).
 
     She is about 1.6 metres tall, 59 kilograms in weight and of fat build. She has a round face with yellow complexion and long straight black hair. She was last seen wearing glasses, a black short-sleeved T-shirt, black trousers and dark coloured shoes.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing woman or may have seen her is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of New Territories South on 3661 1176, 9689 7445 or email to rmpu-nts-2@police.gov.hk, or any police station.

  

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     Legislative Council (LegCo) Members conducted a site visit to Kwu Tung and Long Valley today (July 3) to follow up on a case about issues relating to the housing and agricultural rehabilitation arrangements for Kwu Tung North villagers affected by the North East New Territories New Development Areas Project.
 
     Accompanied by representatives of the Development Bureau, the Lands Department, the Planning Department, the Civil Engineering and the Development Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department as well as the Hong Kong Housing Department, Members visited squatters in Kwu Tung and Long Valley to better understand the impacts of the development project on the local farmers and households. They were briefed by the government representatives on the housing and agricultural rehabilitation arrangements. During the visit, Members also took the opportunity to exchange views with the affected residents to learn more about their needs.
 
     After the site visit, Members held a closed-door meeting with the Administration at the LegCo Complex to follow up the case.
 
     Members who participated in the visit were Duty Roster Member Mr Chan Chi-chuen (Convenor) and other invited Members, Mr Alvin Yeung, Mr Chu Hoi-dick, Mr Lau Kwok-fan, Dr Cheng Chung-tai and Mr Gary Fan.

    

     Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong, at the question-and-answer session of the media session today (July 3) on the quarterly land sale programme for July to September 2018:
 
Reporter: Mr Wong, the Government is reallocating a few more numbers of plots from private residential sites to public housing. How would this balance the proportion of private and public housing? As there is going to be a reduction of the number of flats …, how are you going to make up for those in the longer run? It leads me to the question of how are you going to work with Mr Stanley Wong, the Chairman of the Task Force on Land Supply (Task Force), before the Policy Address?
 
Secretary for Development: You asked me three questions. I will try my best to answer them one by one. For the first question about the split between public and private housing, the target was actually set in 2014 when the Government decided upon the 10-year long-term strategy for public housing. That proportion and that split have not been changed this time. I think the Chief Executive explained it quite clearly in her announcement earlier on. It remains 28 000 units of public housing, and private development at 18 000 units. That remains unchanged.
 
     On measures to increase land supply in the longer term, we are working very hard. That is why the Task Force on Land Supply is working full steam to discuss various strategies. On the Government's part, the Development Bureau is also spearheading efforts to align the standards between our three departments: the Planning Department, the Lands Department and the Buildings Department. At the moment, for some work procedures, sometimes they are looking at the same procedures separately, sometimes the standards applicable are different. Within the Development Bureau, the Permanent Secretary for Development (Planning and Lands), Ms Bernadette Linn, is leading a task force to look at how to speed things up, how to simplify the procedures and how to align the standards. So, we do think that in the medium term, that would help.
      
     Your last question is about Mr Stanley Wong and me. We are on the phone practically almost daily. You might have heard that some Task Force members, after hearing what the Chief Executive has said, have also suggested the Task Force to hold a meeting in the near future to discuss how best they can facilitate the Policy Address process. Stanley himself has said that in terms of broad direction, there might be something that the Task Force can do. The Task Force has scheduled to produce a full report around Christmas time this year. But before that, it might be possible, in terms of broad direction and some preliminary findings, the Task Force may be able to contribute towards the Policy Address preparation process. So, that is something that we will work on.