TNAG-1658-FCO40-2306-Daya-Bay-nuclear-power-station-project-safety-concerns-in-Ho-1987 — Page 113

NOV 04 '87 08:58 TIBCOOU) HK GOVT

A round-up of media reports and commentaries

on the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station 22.10.87 - 28.10.87

P.3

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Thursday, October 22 - The Financial Secretary, Piers Jacobs, said in yesterday's Legco meeting that a report on the non-compliance problem connected with the first layer of the foundation of the Daya Bay plant should be available to the Government within the next 10 days or so, the media reported in prominent coverage.

The story was used as the back-page lead in the HK Times and an inside-page lead in many papers.

Mr Jacobe said the Government would then make a copy of the report available to the Legco ad hoc group on the Daya Bay plant.

On the other hand, Mr Jacobs said that the contingency plan report being compiled for the Government by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority at Harwell was nearing completion and was expected to be available by the end of this year.

In reply to questions by Legco members on the Government's role and function in relation to the nuclear plant, Mr Jacobs said that since the plant was not built in HK, the HK Government had a limited responsibility.

However, he pointed out that the Government was still able to put forward proposals to the Guangdong Nuclear Power Joint Venture Company through the HK Nuclear Investment Company because the Government had two officials serving as directors of the HKNIC.

Sing Pao reported that Legco members Edward Ho, Martin Lee and Chung Pui-lam were not happy with Mr Jacobs' replies on the Daya Bay incident.

According to Tin Tin Daily News, a number of Legco members were not satisfied with Mr Jacobs' remark that HK had no power to supervise the construction work of the plant,

In another development, Sir Jack Cater, the managing director of the HKNIC, said in a letter to the Legco group yesterday that the JVC would not pour concrete into the foundation raft of Unit 1 unless the JVC's engineering department could submit a report on remedial measures to the JVC's executive committee and the management department, Wen Wei Po reported.