XN000022-1996-05-30 — Page 8

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The President: Mr Choi Kan-pui, do you wish to follow up?

Mr Choi Kan-pui: No.

Mrs Miriam Lau (in Chinese): Mr President, according to the '96 Annual Report of the EPD, in the past five years, for the beach quality it is deteriorating for the 56 beaches for the poor and extremely poor water quality we had ten or five years ago and now 19 beaches last year. Now, for the control of sewage, well it has been done for over a decade and a lot of taxpayers' money has been used. Starting from last year people had to pay sewage charges and in the coming days the charges will be increased but the water quality in Hong Kong has not improved significantly. So, Mr Governor, can you inform us of the following: How will the Administration convince the public that for the expensive sewage scheme it is effective and it is value for money?

Governor: I think as the honourable lady knows, we have only been trying to put this sewage strategy into place since 1992/93 and we have invested a considerable amount of cash in it. The objective is that by 1997 we should have reduced the pollution load in Victoria Harbour by about 70%, and that we should have reduced the pollution elsewhere, for example off some of the beaches in the south of the Island, significantly as well as a result of bringing the scheme on-stream. So I think at the moment that the most we could say is that we have stopped the problem getting worse and that we will see the real benefits when we have the opening of the treatment facilities on Stonecutters, we will see the real benefits with a reduction of about 70% in pollution in 1997.

I do not think that people who are concerned about charges think that we are marking-time in trying to introduce this important scheme. I think their greater concern is the level of the charge which they are not necessarily paying now but think they will be paying in the future. But I can assure the honourable lady that we will get on with the scheme as rapidly as we can. I have visited the construction site on Stonecutters - we would warmly welcome Honourable members visiting it if they would like - it is a very remarkable piece of civil engineering.

Mrs Miriam Lau (in Chinese); Mr President, a short follow up. Mr Governor mentioned the reduction of pollution in Victoria Harbour by 70%. Will the Administration set other indicators or objectives? Say, for the 56 beaches, for the 19 which cannot be used now, in future, in how many years will they be reopened so that the public can enjoy sunshine and the beaches, so that they will know that the sewage charges that they pay are really value for money?