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As regards the two remaining points:
(a) I can confirm that this type of insulation material has not been used in other Council markets; and
(b) regarding repairs to the market, the insulation boards which have all been removed will not be replaced. These were originally incorporated into the design of the Market to assess their effect in reducing temperatures within the market areas during hot, sunny days. Since subsequent observations suggest that no worthwhile reduction in temperature was achieved, there is no reason to re-install new boards. The appearance of the internal roof is now the same as at other temporary market buildings.
MR. SAN STEPHEN WONG HON-CHING (in Cantonese):—Thank you Mr. Chairman. I am not satisfied with the answers given by Mr. Poon in particular in relation to the points that only slight damages had been made to the properties of the stallholders. The problem is as the insulation boards are very heavy and the weight, according to MS. TANG, is 35 kg and according to my own examination, it exceeds 100 lb. The insulation boards fell down from the height of 30 feet and broke the grills and actually damaged the floor. So I am not satisfied with the comments that the damage is minor. I hope that as mentioned by Mr. Poon that there would be a release of investigation report. Now, more than one month has passed, however, I have not seen any investigation report. Why the report has still not been submitted to the Council for scrutiny? Secondly, it is claimed that subsequent observations suggest that the insulation board had not reduced the temperature of the market, and it now becomes the reason not to re-install the boards. My question is: if there are no insulation boards, how can we help the stallholders to do business during summer? According to my own study, many stallholders in the temporary markets have already reacted strongly to this matter and have urged that new insulation boards be installed. May be this Council prefers not to do anything in order to prevent the recurrence of the incident. I wonder whether this is a proper solution?
MR. ALBERT POON SHUN-KWOK (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, both the Council and the departments are equally concerned about the report. I understand that the ASD will submit the report to the Council within one month. After we have received the report, the relevant Select Committees including the Markets and Street Traders Committee as well as the Capital Works Select Committee will study the report in details and then make suggestions to the whole Council. As to whether the insulation boards are effective or not, in my answer to MR. WONG's question, actually I said that after the removal of the insulation boards from this temporary market, the design of this temporary market is exactly the same as any other temporary markets. As regards MR. WONG's concern over the situation after the removal of the insulation boards that the users and stallholders feel very hot during summer, we will study the matter in details to see whether the temperatures are very hot in other temporary markets under our management which do not have any insulation boards. I think that if the weather is very hot, we will ask the department to install another kind of insulation boards to all temporary markets. If insulation boards are decided to be installed, we hope that priority will be given to the Wan Chai Temporary Market.
MS. ANNA TANG KING-YUNG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, according to the answer given by Mr. Poon, there is an indication that the architect's instructions had not been properly followed by the contractor, and enquiries on this aspect are continuing. As the contractor had not followed the instructions given by the architect, what is the reason why the ASD took over the project from the architect? Secondly, it was also mentioned in the answer that the compensation should rest with ASD and the contractors. However, as this is an Urban Council project, is it true that the USD should at least play a coordination role in this matter? Thirdly, may I ask whether there are regular inspections to check all our buildings?
MR. ALBERT POON SHUN-KWOK (in Cantonese):—As regards the first question why ASD agreed to take over the substandard building, I believe that when the report is to be submitted to the Council, we can know the reason. Concerning whether the Council and the department should be concerned about compensation, my answer is: both the Council and the department are very concerned about this matter. I understand that the stallholders are now negotiating the matter with the contractors and ASD and the department is also trying to take note of the progress. As regards the third part of question concerning regular maintenance of our building, I would like to inform MS. TANG that the department has carried out annual checks on all temporary markets. Under daily maintenance programme, the department always tries to replace and repair some defective elements when appropriate.
MR. MAN SAI-CHEONG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask a question concerning safety and construction cost in relation to temporary markets. After this incident, have we reviewed the situation and made improvements to our procedures in order to strengthen our requirements for the building of temporary markets?
MR. ALBERT POON SHUN-KWOK (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, I think there are safety standards for all temporary markets. We are not going to relax such standards. The gist of the problem is actually related to the installation of the insulation boards, which was substandard. I think this is the preliminary cause for the incident. When we receive the report from ASD, I think we will thoroughly study the report to see what measures are needed in order to improve the safety and designs of all markets including temporary markets.
MR. WONG HON-CHING (in Cantonese):—Thank you Mr. Chairman. As stated in my first question, there may be some faults in the installation, supervision and the materials. This incident has tarnished the reputation of the Urban Council. I
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insulation boards. I think that if the weather is very hot, we will ask the department to install another kind of insulation boards to all temporary markets. If insulation boards are decided to be installed, we hope that priority will be given to the Wan Chai Temporary Market.