XN000022-1997-04-23 — Page 64

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Maintenance of lift services

Following is a question by the Hon Huang Chen-ya and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Question:

Reply:

Will the Government inform this Council whether -

(a)

(b)

Mr President,

(a)

(b)

it has undertaken any study on the situation concerning the monopoly of lift maintenance services by lift suppliers in the territory; if so, of the findings of the study; and

it will consider bringing in more competition, so that consumers have a greater number of lift maintenance companies to choose from, thus bringing down the maintenance cost; if not, why not?

The records kept by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department show that there are about 41,000 lifts in the territory being serviced by 35 registered lift contractors. All the registered lift contractors are also eligible for being lift suppliers. The percentages of lifts maintained by the 10 largest registered lift contractors were about 87%, 86% and 85% for 1994, 1995 and 1996 respectively; and

with 35 registered lift contractors in the market, reasonable competition already exists. Building owners can select the maintenance agents suitable for their purpose, having regard to factors including the service charges and the quality and reliability of maintenance service.

End