ENG-1989 — Page 257

LAND, PUBLIC WORKS AND UTILITIES

The total number of gas customers in Hong Kong is estimated to be in the order of 1.56 million. In 1989, Towngas accounted for 42 per cent of the total gas sold and LPG for 58 per cent.

HKCG manufactures Towngas at two works, one located at Ma Tau Kok and the other in the Tai Po Industrial Estate. Both use naphtha as a feedstock. They currently have output capacities of 3.6 and 2.8 million cubic metres per day respectively. The calorific value of the manufactured gas is 17.3 MJ/m3 with a specific gravity of 0.56.

Towngas is distributed through an integrated distribution system to some 652 thousand customers for cooking and heating purposes. The mains network extends to the urban areas of Hong Kong Island including Aberdeen, Repulse Bay, Stanley and Ap Lei Chau, Kowloon and many new towns in the New Territories, including Sha Tin and Tai Po, and Tsing Yi Island. HKCG is currently constructing a 92 km network of transmission pipeline of 600 mm diameter in the New Territories. The new transmission line is designed to operate at elevated pressure and will provide an additional 0.3 million cubic metres of 'line pack' storage capacity.

SNG is distributed by HKCG under the Towngas trademark from temporary plants located in Yuen Long and Tuen Mun specifically operated to serve these two new town areas in the New Territories. The gas, which is produced from an LPG/air mix, has a calorific value of 51.8 MJ/m3 and a specific gravity of 1.37. It is expected that the plants will be decommissioned in 1991-2 when the high pressure transmission pipeline reaches the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun areas.

LPG is imported into Hong Kong. It has a calorific value 49.6 MJ/kg and an approximate specific gravity of 2. About 65 per cent of total sales is distributed to customers, via a dealer network, in portable cylinders. The remaining 35 per cent is in the form of piped gas supplies from bulk LPG storage and vaporiser installations which are located in or adjacent to the developments being supplied.

Currently there are about 293 LPG dealers operating within the territory. Additionally, 23 LPG site operators manage 250 bulk storage installations under government licensing arrangements. Altogether there are 912 thousand LPG customers.

In 1982 the government introduced a piped gas policy in order to discourage further growth in the use of gas cylinders in the domestic market. The percentage of domestic consumers using cylinders has fallen to some 38 per cent in 1989.

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