ENG-2007 — Page 280

228 Infrastructure Development and Heritage Conservation

Slope Safety

The Government manages a comprehensive Slope Safety System, which has brought about a substantial improvement in the safety of slopes in Hong Kong. This has been achieved by improving safety standards and technology, ensuring the safety of new slopes, improving the safety of existing slopes, and providing public warnings, information, education and community advisory services on slope safety.

Under the continuing Landslip Preventive Measures (LPM) Programme, about $900 million was spent in 2007 to improve the safety of slopes. Upgrading works. were completed on

on 290 substandard government slopes, all of which were landscaped to blend with their surroundings. Safety screening studies were completed on 300 private slopes.

A strategy has been devised to deal with the landslide risk that remains after completion of the current phase of the LPM Programme in 2010. The long-term Landslip Prevention and Mitigation Programme (LPMitP) after 2010 is aimed at containing landslide risk through upgrading of man-made slopes on a rolling basis. and systematic mitigation of risk from natural hillside catchments with a known. history of landslides close to existing buildings and important transport corridors.

The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) also inspects. substandard slopes to see if they are liable to collapse during rainfall. It also urges the clearance of squatter structures built on or adjacent to slopes that are unsafe and advises people living in those structures to move to safe shelters during heavy rain. In 2007, it inspected 12 squatter control areas and subsequently recommended removal of those structures.

The Government cannot solve Hong Kong's slope problem single-handedly. It needs public involvement and cooperation to reduce landslide risk. A wide range of activities is carried out to drive home the slope safety message to the community. These include broadcasting messages on television and radio, distributing promotional materials, organising roadshows, holding public seminars, and giving school talks and training courses. In 2007, more than 20 guidance documents in the form of publications, guidance notes and study reports were produced. These included the 'Guide to Soil Nail Design and Construction'.

New TV and radio Announcements in the Public Interest on 'Slope Safety Personal Safety Precautionary Measures during the Issuance of Landslip Warnings' were launched in April in time for the onset of the rainy season.

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Hong Kong Slope Safety System and the establishment of the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO), a major exhibition on '30 Years of Efforts in Slope Safety' was staged in April alongside a photo competition with slope safety as the main theme. The competition was open to the general public and 31 prizes were awarded to winners in three categories.