XN000022-1982-10-05 — Page 8

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1982

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FULL SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT FOR SHA TIN NEW TOWN

CONSTRUCTION WILL START SHORTLY ON THE SECOND STAGE OF THE SHA TIN SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT ON THE RECLAMATION JUST NORTH OF THE NEW RACECOURSE TO PROVIDE FULL SEWAGE TREATMENT FACILITIES TO SHA TIN NEW TOWN.

A $205-MILLION CONTRACT FOR THE CIVIL ENGINEERING AND BUILDING WORKS FOR THE PROJECT WAS AWARDED TODAY BY THE NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.

IT WAS FORMALLY SIGNED THIS AFTERNOON BY MR JOHN DON, DIRECTOR OF NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT, AND MR TAI TUNG NGOK OF CHUI HING CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.

THE CONTRACT INVOLVES, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWAGE AND SLUDGE TREATMENT UNITS, PUMPING STATIONS, ACCOMMODATION BLOCKS, THE LAYING OF ALL PIPELINES ON PİLED FOUNDATIONS, TOGETHER WITH ASSOCIATED ROADS AND OTHER APPURTENANCES.

MR DON SAID THAT THE PLANT, DESIGNED TO THE HIGHEST INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, REPRESENTED PART OF THE ONGOING COMMITMENT TO POLLUTION CONTROL MEASURES FOR DISCHARGES INTO TOLO HARBOUR AND WAS COMPLEMENTED BY WORK BEING UNDERTAKEN AS PART OF THE TOLO HARBOUR WATER QUALITY STUDY.

STAGE ONE OF THE PLANT, WHICH HAS BEEN COMPLETED RECENTLY AND WILL BE COMMISSIONED LATER THIS YEAR, WILL BE CAPABLE OF SERVING ABOUT 240 000 PEOPLE IN THE NEW TOWN.

+ADDITIONAL TREATMENT FACILITIES TO BE PROVIDED IN STAGE TWO WILL BE ABLE TO COPE WITH A FURTHER INCREASE IN POPULATION OF ABOUT 265 000, BRINGING THE TOTAL SERVICE CAPACITY OF THE TREATMENT PLANT TO 505 000, + MR DON SAID.

+THE ADDITIONAL WORKS, WHEN COMPLETED IN ABOUT 2-1/2 YEARS, WILL SERVE THE GROWING POPULATION IN SHA TIN AND THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT IN MA ON SHAN.+

HE SAID THAT PLANS WERE AT HAND TO EXPAND THE PLANT FURTHER.

A FINAL STAGE OF THE PLANT, THE DESIGN WORK ON WHICH IS EXPECTED TO COMMENCE NEXT YEAR, WILL ENABLE THE PLANT TO SERVE THE COMPLETE DEVELOPMENTS AT SHA TIN NEW TOWN, INCLUDING MA ON SHAN.

MR DON SAID THAT A FEATURE OF THE PLANT WAS ITS ABILITY PARTLY TO SELF-PERPETUATE ITS OWN OPERATING POWER.

+METHANE GAS, A BY-PRODUCT OF THE SLUDGE TREATMENT PROCESS, IS BEING USED TO GENERATE POWER FOR RUNNING THE PLANT, THEREBY SAVING SOME 30 TO 40 PER CENT OF THE POWER COSTS, HE SAID.

+ALSO, THE TREATED EFFLUENT FROM THE PLANT WILL BE USED FOR IRRIGATION OF LANDSCAPED AREAS IN THE NEW TOWN AND A PROPOSAL FOR THE USE OF THE EFFLUENT FOR FLUSHING WATER PURPOSES IS NOW UNDER STUDY.+

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