ENG-2006 — Page 333

Transport 277

Also, the Government decided to open the proposed government helipad at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to commercial operators to provide them with a permanent landing facility. A technical feasibility study is being conducted to take the project forward.

Updating of the Aviation Legislation

To ensure aviation safety and to give effect to the latest international standards. governing the transport of dangerous goods by air in Hong Kong, the Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) Regulations and the Air Navigation (Dangerous Goods) Regulations were amended and came into effect on November 1, 2006.

The Government continued to align Hong Kong's aviation legislation with the latest international standards. The local law of Hong Kong was amended to give effect to the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, signed in Montreal on May 28, 1999. The Convention, which improves the protection of the interests of passengers and shippers in international carriage by air, took effect in Hong Kong from December 15, 2006.

Air Traffic Control

The air traffic control system continued to perform in a stable and reliable manner. It handled 280 508 aircraft movements at HKIA and 139 714 overflights, including aircraft flying to and from Macao Airport, representing a 6.5 per cent and 11.2 per cent increase over 2005.

The Civil Aviation Department continued its discussion with the civil aviation authorities of the Mainland and Macao on measures to improve the efficiency of air traffic operations in the Pearl River Delta area. The tripartite working group met on three occasions in the year to identify long-term solutions and interim measures to rationalise air traffic management to support air traffic growth in the PRD region. One of the measures was the establishment of a new handover point on December 21, 2006 to improve air traffic flow between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

CAD joined forces with the People's Liberation Army Forces in the HKSAR, various government departments and the United States search and rescue units to conduct long and short range search and rescue exercises from October 24-27. The exercise served to enhance the preparedness and capability of all parties concerned in the event of a situation that requires emergency search and rescue.

The Technical Services Agreement providing technical services for the operations and maintenance of the mission-critical air traffic control systems for HKIA and Hong Kong Flight Information Region expired on September 30, 2006. Following the completion of open tender procedures, contracts for the provision of relevant technical services were awarded to PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited in September 2006 for a period of 10 years.

The old Doppler VHK Omni-Directional Radio Range and Distance Measuring Equipment (DVOR/DME) on Tung Lung Island was decommissioned in May 2006. The replacement system was installed and put into operation on December 21, 2006.