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The sewage collected will undergo chemically enhanced primary treatment before being discharged through a long submarine outfall into the Western Harbour.

"Over 1,000 tonnes of sludge currently discharged into Victoria harbour will be removed every day. This will improve the water quality of the Victoria Harbour significantly," he added.

Mr Ng said the Hong Kong Island South Sewerage Master Plan, the Tolo Harbour Sewerage Master Plan and the Port Shelter Sewerage Master Plan were nearing full implementation.

"Although the capital costs of these and other sewerage infrastructure projects are not financed by the sewage charges, their completion over the next few years will inevitably increase operating costs because much larger volumes of sewage and other wastewater will be diverted and treated to a higher standard.

"To make an allowance for inflation and to meet the rising operating costs as additional sewage treatment facilities come on stream to clean up and protect our environment, it is necessary to increase the general sewage charge and the trade effluent surcharge," Mr Ng said.

He maintained that the proposed increases in June was very modest.

"Even after the increases, about 16 per cent of domestic household will . continue to pay nothing while 61 per cent will pay less than $2.50 more per month," he said.

Noting that the Legislative Council did not support the proposed increases, Mr Ng said DSD still considered that cleaning up and protecting the environment was essential to the health and quality of everyone in Hong Kong,

"It is a major task in everyone's best interest and it has a cost which must be met in accordance with the Polluter Pays Principle," he stressed.

Three of DSD's sewage treatment facilities were open to the public today.

The open-day is the first of its kind organised by DSD to promote the community's awareness of environmental protection and to enable the community to have a more thorough understanding of wastewater collection and treatment process.