The Environmental Protection Department today (July 4) released a list of completed and newly commenced statutory environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and non-statutory environmental studies for major development projects between April 1 and June 30, 2019.
 
     Updated information related to the EIA Ordinance is available on the EIA Ordinance website at www.epd.gov.hk/eia.
      
     Completed statutory EIAs and non-statutory environmental studies in the second quarter of 2019 include:
—————————————————————————————————————–
 
A. Statutory EIAs:
 
1. Yuen Long Effluent Polishing Plant
(Drainage Services Department)
 
B. Non-statutory Environmental Studies:
 
    Nil
 
     Newly commenced statutory EIAs and non-statutory environmental studies include:
————————————————————————————————————–
 
A. Statutory EIAs:
 
1. Relocation of Diamond Hill Fresh Water and Salt Water Service Reservoirs to Caverns (EIA Study Brief No. ESB-317/2019)
(Water Supplies Department)
 
2. Revised Austin Road Flyover (EIA Study Brief No. ESB-316/2019)
(West Kowloon Cultural District Authority)
 
3. Revised Trunk Road T4 in Sha Tin (EIA Study Brief No. ESB-315/2019)
(Civil Engineering and Development Department)
 
4. Provision of Crematorium, Funeral Parlour and Visitor Centre at Sandy Ridge Cemetery (EIA Study Brief No. ESB-314/2019)
(Food and Environmental Hygiene Department)
 
B. Non-statutory Environmental Studies:
 
    Nil

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has announced that the lifesaving services at Golden Beach, Cafeteria New Beach and Cafeteria Old Beach in Tuen Mun District resumed today (July 4). The lifesaving services at these beaches were suspended earlier due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty.

     The Government announced today (July 4) the launch of the fourth batch of Silver Bond for subscription by Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above.
 
     The target issuance size of the fourth batch of Silver Bond is HK$3 billion. It will have a tenor of three years. Bond holders will be paid interest once every six months at a rate linked to inflation in Hong Kong, subject to a minimum rate of 3 per cent. Only applications from Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above holding a Hong Kong identity card will be accepted, and there will be no secondary market for Silver Bond. Bond holders may sell their bonds before maturity to the Government at par together with accrued but unpaid interest.
 
     The subscription period of the Silver Bond will start from 9am on July 10 and end at 2pm on July 18. The Bond will be issued on July 29. Hong Kong residents aged 65 or above (i.e. those born in 1954 or before) may apply for the Bond through one of the 20 placing banks or 19 designated securities brokers.
 
     The Financial Secretary announces in the 2018-19 Budget that the Government will issue Silver Bond in 2018 and 2019 to further develop the local bond market.
 
     "The issuance of Silver Bond is intended to provide an investment product with steady returns for senior citizens and encourage financial institutions to tap into the immense potential of this 'silver market' by introducing a wider spectrum of appropriate products," a government spokesperson said.
 
     Details of the offering terms and subscription arrangements are available at the website (www.hkgb.gov.hk) of the Government Bond Programme.
 

     The Transport Department (TD) today (July 4) reminded the public that the 136th auction of personalised vehicle registration marks (PVRMs) will be held this Saturday (July 6) at Meeting Room N101, L1, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.
      
     A list of 206 approved PVRMs put up for auction can be downloaded from the department's website, www.td.gov.hk. The reserve price for all these marks is $5,000. Applicants who have paid a deposit of $5,000 are required to participate in the bidding (including the first bid at the reserve price). Otherwise, the PVRM concerned may be sold to another bidder at the reserve price.
      
     Bidders are also reminded to bring the following documents with them for completion of registration and payment procedures immediately after the successful bidding:

(i) The identity document of the successful bidder;
(ii) The identity document of the purchaser if it is different from the successful bidder;
(iii) A copy of the certificate of incorporation if the purchaser is a body corporate; and
(iv) A crossed cheque made payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" or "The Government of the HKSAR". (For an auctioned mark paid for by cheque, the first three working days after the date of auction will be required for cheque clearance confirmation before processing of the application for mark assignment can be completed.) Successful bidders can also pay through the Easy Pay System (EPS). Payment by post-dated cheques, cash or other methods will not be accepted.
      
     People who want to participate in the bidding at the auction should take note of the following important points:

(i) The display of a PVRM on a motor vehicle should be in compliance with the requirements stipulated in Schedule 4 to the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) Regulations;
(ii) Any change to the arrangement of letters, numerals and blank spaces of a PVRM, i.e. single and two rows as auctioned, will not be allowed;
(iii) Purchasers must make payment of the purchase price through EPS or by crossed cheque and complete the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM immediately after the bidding for the PVRM concerned. Subsequent alteration of the particulars in the memorandum will not be permitted; and
(iv) The purchaser shall, within 12 months after the date of auction, apply to the Commissioner for Transport for the PVRM to be assigned to a motor vehicle registered in the name of the purchaser. If the purchaser fails to assign the PVRM within 12 months, allocation of the PVRM will be cancelled and arranged for re-allocation in accordance with the statutory provision without prior notice to the purchaser.
 
     "Upon completion of the Memorandum of Sale of PVRM, the purchaser will be issued a receipt and a Certificate of Allocation of Personalised Registration Mark. The Certificate of Allocation will serve to prove the holdership of the PVRM. Potential buyers of vehicles bearing a PVRM should check the Certificate of Allocation with the sellers and pay attention to the details therein. For transfer of vehicle ownership, this certificate together with other required documents should be produced to the TD for processing," the spokesman said.
      
     For other auction details, please refer to the Guidance Notes – Auction of PVRM, which is available at the department's licensing offices or can be downloaded from its website, www.td.gov.hk.

     The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) has mailed poll cards to around 9 200 registered electors of the San Tin Constituency to remind them to vote in the Yuen Long District Council by-election on July 14 (Sunday). Letters have also been sent to around 10 400 registered electors of the Shap Pat Heung West Constituency to remind them that they do not have to vote because the candidate for the constituency has been returned uncontested.
 
     "Electors of the San Tin Constituency can log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) if they have not yet received their poll cards to check whether they are registered electors of the constituency and their designated polling station. They can also call the election hotline 2891 1001 for enquiries," a spokesman for the REO said today (July 4).
 
     "Electors are advised to read carefully the address of the designated polling station on their poll cards indicating where they should cast their votes," he said.
 
     Together with the poll cards, the REO has sent to every elector of the San Tin Constituency a map showing the location of the designated polling station, a Guide on Voting Procedure, an Introduction to Candidates and a leaflet from the Independent Commission Against Corruption on clean elections.
 
     Two polling stations for the constituency, located at Tun Yu School, San Tin, Yuen Long, New Territories, and St Gavriel Kindergarten, 1 San Wai Tsuen, San Tin, Yuen Long, New Territories, will be open to electors from 7.30am to 10.30pm on the polling day.
 
     If any electors of the San Tin Constituency who are remanded or detained by law enforcement agencies other than the Correctional Services Department (CSD) on the polling day wish to vote in this by-election, they will be arranged to cast their votes at the dedicated polling station located at Yuen Long Police Station, 246 Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long, New Territories. The polling hours will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm.
 
     Should there be any electors of the San Tin Constituency imprisoned or remanded in the CSD's custody on the polling day, arrangements will be made for them to vote at dedicated polling stations set up at their respective penal institutions. For security reasons, polling hours for the dedicated polling stations at penal institutions will be from 9am to 4pm.
 
     The voting procedure for electors and the venue setup at the dedicated polling stations will be basically the same as those of the ordinary polling stations.
 
     The two candidates contesting San Tin Constituency by-election are Man Ka-koy (No. 1) and Man Ka-ho Donald (No. 2). For the Shap Pat Heung West Constituency, as there is only one validly nominated candidate, Leung Fuk-yuen, the candidate was declared by the Returning Officer on June 21 as being duly elected as an elected member for the above constituency at the by-election in accordance with section 39(1) of the District Councils Ordinance (Cap. 547).