20
Wednesday, January 7, 1976
►
NO REPRIEVE FOR SHEUNG SHEI TANNERIES
The Government has no intention of granting any further relief to
the Sheung Shui tannery owners and will clear the land by July 31 this year.
This was stated by the Secretary for the New Territories, the Hon.
David Akers-Jones, in the Legislative Council meeting this afternoon.
In a reply to the Hon. Roger Lobo, Mr. Akers-Jones pointed out that
the owners of tanneries at Sheung Shui had been given every assistance and
encouragement to develop their new sites at Kwai Chung.
He noted that nearly four years had elapsed since the owners were
warned that they would have to move to Kwai Chung or shut down.
"Building plans have been approved but no one has started to build
and it is clear that the tannery owners have made no serious effort to move,' TI
he told the Council.
He said: "We can no longer tolerate the appalling pollution of Sheung
Shui caused by the tanneries."
Mr. Akers-Jones recalled that the sites at Kwai Chung were granted
to the tannery owners in 1973 when the land then was valued at $20 to $40
per square foot depending on the date of the land exahange entitlements
being surrendered.
Furthermore, he said, the owners were given the benefit of paying
this in 20 annual instalments at five per cent interest.
"Even when one takes the cost of the acquiring land exchange rights
into consideration, no one would, I think, disagree if I said that these
terms were far from onerous and, in fact, payment of premium instalments is
up-to-date," he said,
He said that during the past two years since the grants were executed,
none of the owners had started to construct any new factory buildings.
"It is most unlikely that any suitable premises will be completed
and ready for the tanneries to move into before July 31, 1976," he added.
/21