ENG-2009 — Page 292

228 Infrastructure Development and Heritage Conservation

2009. The development of GMPs for the remaining urban areas has been completed and work under these commenced from August to December 2009 for completion in 2011. Meanwhile, the Government will prepare the formulation of GMPs for the New Territories.

Report of the Task Force on Tree Management - People, Trees, Harmony

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To address concerns about the public safety aspects of tree management, a task force on tree management led by the Chief Secretary for Administration published the 'Report of the Task Force on Tree Management People, Trees, Harmony' in June 2009 following a comprehensive review. The report recognised that tree safety could not be tackled in isolation through management and maintenance without putting tree management in the overall context of Government's broader greening and landscape policy. The report recommended, among other things, that the bureau should take up the overall policy responsibility for greening, landscape and tree management.

Drainage Services

Flood Prevention Programme

To address flooding risks, the Drainage Services Department has completed flood protection works to a total cost of about $11.2 billion throughout Hong Kong Island, Kowloon peninsula and the New Territories. The department has also embarked on the planning, design and construction of further flood protection works of a total cost of about $10.4 billion.

The majority of major flood protection works in the New Territories has been completed. These include about 82 kilometres of trained rivers and 27 village floodwater pumping schemes. The risk of regional flooding in the New Territories has therefore been substantially reduced. Works to improve about 32 kilometres of drainage works in Sha Tin, Tai Po, Fanling and Sheung Shui and other areas are due for completion in 2013. Design work for another eight kilometres of drainage channels in the upstream portions of the Ping Yuen River, Sheung Yue River and Ng Tung River in the Northern New Territories is in progress.

Completed major flood protection works in the urban areas include the Tail Hang Tung Flood-water Tank and Kai Tak Transfer Tunnel in West Kowloon and the Sheung Wan storm-water pumping station which was commissioned in 2009. Construction of another nine kilometres of storm-water drains in East Kowloon will be completed by 2011.

To reduce further the flooding risk in urban areas, the department is working in full swing on the construction of the Hong Kong West, Tsuen Wan and Lai Chi Kok drainage tunnels, totalling 19 kilometres with 43 intake structures. Construction of the former two tunnels commenced in late 2007, while work on the Lai Chi Kok tunnel started in late 2008. These projects, when completed in 2012, will intercept and channel storm-water from hillsides to the sea through the intakes and drainage tunnels, thereby reducing the risk of flooding in urban areas including Happy Valley, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Central and Western District, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung,