SPEECH BY THE SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ON 12TH DECEMBER 1979
HONG KONG AND YAUMATI FERRY COMPANY (SERVICES)
ORDINANCE (CHAPTER 266)
Sir,
I rise to move the first motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. It provides, under section 5 of the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company (Services) Ordinance (Chapter 266), for the extension of existing concessions by amending the Schedule to that Ordinance. The amendments proposed have the consent of the Company.
The Government is preparing a new draft Ferry Services Bill which is intended to replace the existing Ferries Ordinance (Chapter 104) and also Chapter 266. Under the proposed Bill, franchises will be granted to major ferry operators and miner operators will be licensed. The proposed arrangements bear some similarity to those in the Public Omnibus Services Ordinance (Chapter 230) and will simplify the existing procedures.
It was originally hoped that consultations on the new arrangements and negotiations with the ferry operators on draft franchises could be completed, and the Ferry Services Bill enacted, in 1979. The franchises could then have been granted with effect from 1st January 1980 when the existing concessions expired. However, the discussions with the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company on these matters are proving to be extremely detailed and complicated, covering as they do every aspect of ferry operations and of the Government's relationships with the Company, and they have not yet been completed. This means that the original timetable cannot be followed and that interim arrangements are needed.
/The