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be considered by the relevant Select Committee because they represent the non-profit-making organizations as a whole.
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Mr. Hu, would you answer that supplementary question?
MR. HU (in English):-Although the hiring charges have increased, on the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, the percentage of subsidy has been greatly increased so the net increase is only about 10-20% as far as non-profit-making organizations are concerned.
3. DR. THE HON. HENRY H. L. Hu asked the following question (in English):—I understand that the site at present occupied by the quarantine depot at Kennedy Town is earmarked for development as a market. Can I please be informed when the quarantine depot is likely to be moved so that the market can be built, thus doing away with the depot which is a source of nuisance to the residents in the area.
MR. PETER P. F. CHAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND ABATTOIRS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-The Kennedy Town quarantine depot, together with another one at Ma Tau Kok in Kowloon, are to be reprovisioned on Tsing Yi Island. The reprovisioning is to be done in two phases and there are already items for these in the Public Works Programme. Although both items are in Category A of the programme, my information is that it is unlikely that the first stage, which is to build a seawall and pier, will start before 1981-82. The second stage, which includes the building and ancillary works, cannot, of course, start until Stage I is completed. It is not possible, therefore, to say when the quarantine depot is likely to be moved but in view of the delay in release of the site for development by the Urban Council, the Secretary for Economic Services and the Secretary for the Environment have been asked to give priority to the cattle quarantine project at Tsing Yi.
DR. HU (in English):-Mr. Chairman, through you, I thank Mr. P. F. CHAN who answered my question. My intention of asking this question is indeed to improve the present environmental conditions of the area which is a source of nuisance to the neighbouring residents. Mr. Chairman, through you, may I ask Mr. CHAN could anything be done in this area so that such conditions might be improved before the Kennedy Town depot will be actually moved to Tsing Yi Island?
MR. CHAN (in English):--Mr. Chairman, this problem exercises the minds of Members of the Markets and Abattoirs Select Committee all the time, and of course, since the programme is in the hands of the Government, and it is not an Urban Council programme, there is nothing we can do except to ask the Department to persuade the Government to give top priority to the project.
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DR. HU (in English):-Can the Chairman of the Select Committee clarify that the Urban Council does something in the interim period to improve our environmental conditions in this area?
MR. CHAN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, as I said earlier, our plan is to build a proper market on this site. Therefore, it is also our wish that this can be done as early as possible. I can assure Dr. Henry Hu that every effort will be made in order to persuade the Government to proceed with the project at an early date.
4. MR. JOHN MACKENZIE asked the following question (in English):-Why has the covered walkway around the City Hall been out of service for several months? Can prompt action be taken to restore this for public use before the rainy season?
THE HON. F. K. HU, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—This question concerns the covered walkway around the City Hall.
The City Hall walkway was closed in June 1979 on the advice of the Public Works Department because rainfall seeping through the concrete slabs had damaged the elevated deck. After thorough investigation, the Public Works Department have now advised that the re-construction of the entire deck with the inclusion of a water-proof membrane in it is necessary.
The Cultural Affairs Select Committee has approved the re-construction of the walkway and the Government has been asked to include the project in the Public Works programme as a Category A item so that work may proceed immediately. It is estimated that the project will take 12 months to complete.
The preparation of detailed drawings and the completion of tendering procedure will take about 6 months to complete and it is proposed to erect a temporary false-ceiling underneath the existing walkway in order to provide a covered path for the public during the period before re-construction work begins later in the year.
MR. MACKENZIE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, may I point out that this thorough investigation of this simple problem appears to have taken nearly 9 months, and from personal observations, I see there are few activities in the proximity of the City Hall. May I ask the Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Select Committee if we would press the P.W.D. to have a false-ceiling erected immediately before the hot summer weather?
MR. HU (in English):-The work on the false-ceiling is already in progress on the northern side facing the harbour. We expect the work can be completed before the end of this month.
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be considered by the relevant Select Committee because they represent the non-profit-making organizations as a whole.
CHAIRMAN (in English):-Mr. Hu, would you answer that supplementary question?
MR. HU (in English):-Although the hiring charges have increased, on the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, the percentage of subsidy has been greatly increased so the net increase is only about 10-20% as far as non- profit-making organizations are concerned.
3. DR. THE HON. HENRY H. L. Hu asked the following question (in English):—I understand that the site at present occupied by the quarantine depot at Kennedy Town is earmarked for development as a market. Can I please be informed when the quarantine depot is likely to be moved so that the market can be built, thus doing away with the depot which is a source of nuisance to the residents in the area.
MR. PETER P. F. CHAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND ABATTOIRS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-The Kennedy Town quarantine depot, together with another one at Ma Tau Kok in Kowloon, are to be reprovisioned on Tsing Yi Island. The reprovisioning is to be done in two phases and there are already items for these in the Public Works Programme. Although both items are in Category A of the programme, my information is that it is unlikely that the first stage, which is to build a seawall and pier, will start before 1981-82. The second stage, which includes the building and ancillary works, cannot, of course, start until Stage I is completed. It is not possible, therefore, to say when the quarantine depot is likely to be moved but in view of the delay in release of the site for development by the Urban Council, the Secretary for Economic Services and the Secretary for the Environment have been asked to give priority to the cattle quarantine project at Tsing Yi.
DR. HU (in English):-Mr. Chairman, through you, I thank Mr. P. F. CHAN who answered my question. My intention of asking this question is indeed to improve the present environmental conditions of the area which is a source of nuisance to the neighbouring residents. Mr. Chairman, through you, may I ask Mr. CHAN could anything be done in this area so that such conditions might be improved before the Kennedy Town depot will be actually moved to Tsing Yi Island?
MR. CHAN (in English):--Mr. Chairman, this problem exercises the minds of Members of the Markets and Abattoirs Select Committee all the time, and of course, since the programme is in the hands of the Government, and it is not an Urban Council programme, there is nothing we can do except to ask the Department to persuade the Government to give top priority to the project.
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DR. HU (in English):-Can the Chairman of the Select Committee clarify that the Urban Council does something in the interim period to improve our environmental conditions in this area?
MR. CHAN (in English):-Mr. Chairman, as I said earlier, our plan is to build a proper market on this site. Therefore, it is also our wish that this can be done as early as possible. I can assure Dr. Henry Hu that every effort will be made in order to persuade the Government to proceed with the project at an early date.
4. MR. JOHN MACKENZIE asked the following question (in English):-Why has the covered walkway around the City Hall been out of service for several months? Can prompt action be taken to restore this for public use before the rainy season?
THE HON. F. K. HU, CHAIRMAN OF THE CULTURAL AFFAIRS SELECT COM- MITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—This question concerns the covered walkway around the City Hall.
The City Hall walkway was closed in June 1979 on the advice of the Public Works Department because rainfall seeping through the concrete slabs had damaged the elevated deck. After thorough investigation, the Public Works Department have now advised that the re-construction of the entire deck with the inclusion of a water-proof membrance in it is necessary.
The Cultural Affairs Select Committee has approved the re-construction of the walkway and the Government has been asked to include the project in the Public Works programme as a Category A item so that work may proceed immediately. It is estimated that the project will take 12 months to complete.
The preparation of detailed drawings and the completion of tendering procedure will take about 6 months to complete and it is proposed to erect a temporary false-ceiling underneath the existing walkway in order to provide a covered path for the public during the period before re-construction work begins later in the year.
MR. MACKENZIE (in English):-Mr. Chairman, may I point out that this thorough investigation of this simple problem appears to have taken nearly 9 months, and from personal observations, I see there are few activities in the proximity of the City Hall. May I ask the Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Select Committee if we would press the P.W.D. to have a false-ceiling erected immediately before the hot summer weather?
MR. HU (in English):-The work on the false-ceiling is already in progress on the northern side facing the harbour. We expect the work can be completed before the end of this month.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.