XN000022-1996-04-26 — Page 27

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"The plant's circular pumping station, with a capacity of pumping over 31 cubic metres of sewage per second, is the largest of its kind in the world. The two-tray sedimentation tanks of the plant are also specially designed to minimise the area of land required," he said.

The SSDS Stage I is part of a $6.8 billion High Priority Programme (HPP) for proper collection, treatment and disposal of some 70 per cent of sewage discharged into Victoria Harbour daily.

"The HPP also comprises 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 Programme in mid-1997, sewage from these catchment areas around Victoria Harbour will be collected and screened before being conveyed through a network of deep sewage tunnels to the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works.

"The sewage will then undergo chemically enhanced primary treatment before being discharged through a long submarine outfall into the Western Harbour," Mr Ng

added.

Turning to the department's efforts in flood mitigation and control, Mr Ng said that a three-tier plan was formulated to tackle the problem. They are Long Term Structural Measures. Short Term Improvement and Management Measures, and Legislative and Institutional Measures.

Long term structural measures comprise major river training projects to carry away stormwater to the sea and village flood protection schemes to protect low lying flood prone villages.

"Our target is to construct in accordance with our programme the necessary capital infrastructure at an estimated cost of some $5.3 billion.

"When all these works are completed, the severe flooding problem we now have, will, hopefully, become a thing of the past," said Mr Ng.

Short term improvement and management measures include local drainage improvement works, maintenance activities to identify and remove blockages in watercourses and stormwater drains and surveillance activities to ensure the drainage system was performing well.