XN000022-1996-01-24 — Page 2

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Transcript of the Governor's media session

Following is the transcript of the media session by the Governor, the Rt Hon Christopher Patten, after visiting the Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme High Priority Programme this (Wednesday) afternoon:

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Governor: I'm delighted to have been able to see for myself today the work being done on the first stage of our strategic sewage disposal project. It's an enormous part of our plans for ensuring improvements in Hong Kong's environment. It should, as you know, by 97 when it is open the first part

to deal with about 70 per cent of the pollution in Victoria Harbour. We are at present talking to Chinese officials about further stages in the project. We want to do an environmental impact assessment involving Chinese experts as well as our own to decide on what is the best environmental option for future stages. But this project, despite occasional criticisms from the touch-lines, this project stands on its own and was always the essential first stage in giving Hong Kong the sort of sewage and storm water system that it needs. The work once again has gone forward extraordinarily rapidly and I would like to congratulate everybody who has been involved in the design team and the consultancy in managing the project. And of course, above all, those workers who are down there 150 metres below ground level digging the tunnels and working to give Hong Kong the sewage scheme that a civilised and modern city like this requires. At the end of the day, I repeat, the main benefit will be to the quality of the waters around our shores -- a 70 per cent improvement in the water quality in the harbour. And we'll get the remaining 30 per cent in stage 2 or subsequent stages when we deal with the sewage which is at present being discharged from the northern and western ends of Victoria island. But this will be a very good start and I look forward to being back next year in the first part of the year to see the project coming into operation.

Question: (on freezing of Government fees and charges)

Governor: We are talking to legislators about that at the moment. I think the idea for freezing charges, some of which for technical and managerial services, was first proposed by a party which argues that it's pro-business but it's not a very pro-business thing to do. And I don't think it's got very much to do with people's welfare either. Of course we're all concerned to see inflation coming down. The year before I came here as Governor, inflation was just under 14 per cent. The latest very welcome figures have inflation running at six and a half per cent. They may have been exceptionally good for December 95. But I think that we all agree that inflation is somewhere around eight, eight and a half per cent. So that is a considerable improvement on the figures of a few years ago. Why do we have that improvement? Not because we've been handing