2 -
Mr Ng pointed out that in the past financial year, $420 million of sewage charges and $265 million of trade effluent surcharges had been collected from the public whereas $2 billion had been paid by the Government in that financial year for new sewerage capital projects.
"According to the department's statistics, it appears that no domestic customers is unable to pay the sewage charges," he stressed.
Mr Ng reiterated that DSD had made significant achievements in the provision of drainage services last year funded by the sewage charges.
"The DSD is maintaining over 1,180 kilometres of public sewers together with some 38,000 connections to them and is handling and resolving about 45,000 complaints on blocked drains each year," said Mr Ng.
He said in Sha Tin, Tai Po, Shek Wui Hui and Yuen Long new towns, major secondary sewage treatment plants were now in operation and there were over 60 smaller plants and preliminary treatment facilities around the shores and on the islands.
DSD also operates and maintains over 90 sewage pumping stations throughout the territory. The volume of sewage treated has increased to 715 million cubic metres in 1995, of which 144 million cubic metres receive full biological treatment.
Twenty-six submarine outfalls are operated and maintained to safely dispose of this sewage into the sea.
Furthermore, said Mr Ng, new capital infrastructure projects estimated at about $20 billion were being implemented by the department in various stages of planning, design and construction.
"These projects include the High Priority Programme (HPP) which is being carried out with $6.8 billion funds injected in 1994 by the Government," he said.
HPP comprises the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme, Stage I and six related Sewerage Master Plans for Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi, Northwest Kowloon, North and South Kowloon, East Kowloon, Chai Wan and Shau Kei Wan, and Tseung Kwan O.
On completion of the HPP Projects, sewage from these catchment areas around Victoria Harbour at a volume of about 1.1 million cubic metres per day will be collected and screened at screening plants and then conveyed through a network of deep sewage tunnels to the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works.