Tag Archives: Ms Eva Cheng

Hong Kong: TD launches safe driving and health campaign for professional drivers (with photos)

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The Safe Driving and Health Campaign for professional drivers organised by the Transport Department (TD) will enhance the safety and health awareness of professional drivers through publicity and education, health check days as well as safety seminars to be held in the coming months.

Speaking at todays launching ceremony, the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, said the campaign would keep enhancing the safety and health awareness of professional drivers with a view to promoting road safety for the benefits of the general public as well as the drivers themselves.

Apart from passenger and driving safety, professional drivers should also pay attention to the occupational health problems, resulting from long hours of driving on the roads with busy traffic in Hong Kong Ms Cheng said.

The campaign launched today includes publicity and education programmes in which Ms Cheng, Commissioner for Transport, Mr Joseph Y T Lai and celebrities will make appeals in safe driving message and health tips to professional drivers.In addition, newspaper segments to share safe driving and health tips will be published by the Transport Department for eight consecutive weeks from today.

Passengers can also play a part in enhancing road safety.In-vehicle stickers will be displayed on public transport to show them channels for reflecting views.The TD will also distribute souvenirs to professional drivers at public transport interchanges to promote the campaign theme.

Ms Cheng said that professional drivers should always pay full attention while driving.Good health will help them to be alert to traffic situation.

To encourage professional drivers to be more aware of their health condition, the TD will organise five health check days next month (January).Measurements of health indicators including height, Body Mass Index, waist-hip ratio, body fat percentage, blood pressure, total cholesterol and plasma glucose will be taken for professional drivers.

The heath check days will be held in Tuen Mun, Sha Tin, Kowloon Tong, Wan Chai and Happy Valley. More than 2,000 professional drivers will benefit from the event.There will also be exhibitions of health messages at the venues.

Ms Cheng called on the transport trades to keep close liaison with the Transport Department and encourage more frontline professional drivers to participate in the event.

The department will organise 11 safety seminars which are tailor-made to suit the operational needs of frontline drivers from different transport trades.The police and other professional speakers will be invited to brief the professional drivers on the latest regulations on road safety, traffic offences and professional safety information in order to strengthen their awareness of good driving behaviour and habits.

Other officiating guests for todays launching ceremony included the Commissioner for Transport, Mr Joseph Y T Lai; Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Operations), Mr Peter Yam Tat-wing; Chairman of Transport Advisory Committee, Ms Teresa Cheng and Chairman of Road Safety Campaign Committee, Road Safety Council, Mr Lawrence Yu.

Hong Kong: LCQ18: Tolo Highway widening project works

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Following is a question by the Hon Chan Hak-kan and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (December 9):

Question:

The section of Tolo Highway beside Wan Tau Tong Estate, King Nga Court, Tak Nga Court and Classical Gardens is undergoing widening works to add a lane each for southbound and northbound traffic. Some local people have recently relayed to me that the widening works involve the felling or transplanting of a large number of trees and they are also worried that with the works going on and the future growth in traffic the noise problem will be aggravated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)given the information provided by the authorities to this Council onDecember 19 last year that the widening works would involve the felling and transplanting of about 11,120 trees, whether the number needs to be adjusted, and of the number of trees which have been removed; if the number needs to be adjusted, of the details and reasons for that;

(b)given that the green areas along the aforesaid road section are providing open space for many residents within the district, and they are also the habitat of a large number of birds, whether the authorities will re-assess the ecological impact of the widening works on the environment nearby;

(c)whether it will consider carrying out the widening works mainly on the northbound lanes which are relatively farther away from residential areas, so as to alleviate the impact on the residents nearby while the works are being carried out; if not, of the reasons for that;

(d)of the estimated increase in the daily vehicular traffic flow and the estimated increase in traffic noise after the completion of the widening works for the road section concerned; of the estimated number of residents to be affected by the noise; and

(e)of the details of the tree-replanting plan after the completion of the widening works, including the specific planting locations and dates, as well as the species of trees to be planted?

Reply:

President,

(a)With the funding approved by the Legislative Council (LegCo), the Government commenced Stage 1 of the Tolo Highway widening project (between Island House Interchange and Tai Hang) in August 2009. We pointed out in our submissions to the LegCo for funding application that about 11,120 trees within the area to be widened had to be removed for project implementation and the majority of the trees affected are common species and are planted within the man-made slopes along the Tolo Highway during and after its construction. Due to their existing location, if the widening works were to be taken forward, there is no other choice but to remove the trees concerned. According to the latest estimation of the Highways Department (HyD), the number of trees to be removed remains unchanged and no revision is needed for the time being.As at end November, about 230 trees have been removed as required under the project.

(b)During the detailed design stage of the Tolo Highway widening project, we conducted a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project as required under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499) (the Ordinance). The EIA already covered the potential impact of the project on the surrounding ecological environment (including the woodlands along Tolo Highway in the vicinity of Wan Tau Tong Estate, King Nga Court, Tak Nga Court and Classical Gardens in Tai Po). According to the EIA Report of the project, for the project as a whole, the woodlands affected are of low to medium ecological value.

In accordance with the requirements of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (Technical Memorandum), a series of ecological environment mitigation measures were put forward in the EIA Report, including the tree planting proposal covering an area of about 8.5 hectares along the concerned road sections under the Tolo Highway widening project for the provision of ecological environment and as habitats for animals nearby. The report also pointed out that the proposed mitigation measures were considered appropriate and adequate to compensate for the impact of the project on the ecological environment.

The above mitigation measures have been included in the works project and will be carried out during the construction period. HyD has, in accordance with the requirements of the EIA Report and the environment permit, set up an environmental monitoring and audit team for the works and engaged an independent environmental checker through their engineering consultant to regularly monitor and audit the environmental impact of the works during the construction period.

(c)We had thoroughly considered the specific locations of the works areas of the project and assessed the feasibility of different options during the planning and detailed design of the Tolo Highway widening project. Due to the close proximity of the northbound lanes of Tolo Highway to the existing Shan Tong Road and Shan Tong New Village, and there is insufficient space for carrying out the required works at the location, it is not feasible for the works to concentrate inthe northbound lanes.

(d)We anticipate that upon completion of the project, the number of one-way vehicle trips per hour during peak hours at the road sections concerned will increase from around 4,200 currently by about 700, i.e. to about 4,900. We will install noise barriers along the roadside of the project as recommended in the EIA Report to ensure that the traffic noise would not exceed the limits as stipulated in the Ordinance and the Technical Memorandum. As a result, the widening works will not increase the noise level along the road section concerned. Instead, for all residents (about 1,800 households) being currently affected by the noise impact originated from the existing road section, the noise level will be reduced by a range of 1 to 13 decibels due to installation of the noise barriers.

(e)Subsequent to the widening of Tolo Highway, more than 3,620 large trees with diameter over 75 millimetres, 44,000 seedlings and 50,500 shrubs will be replanted along the road section concerned. The total number of tress to be planted will outweigh the number of tress affected by the Project. Except the elevated bridge sections where tree planting is not possible, the planting areas are widely spread over the flatlands and the newly built man-made slopes along both sides of the project area.

As proposed by landscape experts after considering the ecological and aesthetic factors, we will plant new tree species including Sapium sebiferum, Litsea glutinosa, Schefflera heptaphylla, Cratoxylum cochinchinense, Syzygium cumini, Crateva unilocularis, Jacaranda mimosifolia and Koelreuteria bipinnata. We will start the planting works upon completion of the major civil and bridge structural works under the project in mid-2012. Depending on the progress of the works under the project, both tree planting and the works will be completed in 2013.

Hong Kong: Air services agreement with The Republic of the Fiji Islands signed (with photos)

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The Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, signed an air services agreement on behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with the Government of The Republic of the Fiji Islands in Hong Kong today (December 3).

Representing the Government of The Republic of the Fiji Islands was Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Co-operation and Civil Aviation of The Republic of the Fiji Islands.

The agreement is the 61st air services agreement signed with aviation partners.It provides a legal framework for establishing air links between Hong Kong and The Republic of the Fiji Islands, which will boost tourism and contribute to economic development.

It is in our mutual interest to establish direct air links between the two places, Ms Cheng said at the signing ceremony.

The signing of the agreement is in line with our policy of progressive liberalisation in air services between Hong Kong and our aviation partners.

Aviation partners that have signed air services agreements with Hong Kong are listed in the Annex.

Hong Kong: LCQ19: Incidents of explosion in manholes

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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Hok-ming and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 4):

Question:

It has been reported that recently incidents of explosion in manholes occurred one after another, which has aroused public concern about the safety of manholes, and the Highways Department is conducting an inspection of all the manholes in Hong Kong.It has also been reported that the risk level of explosion in manholes depends mainly on the amount of explosive gases accumulated as well as the types of pipes used in manholes.Among such risks, the highest is that of explosive gas entering manholes for telecommunication facilities, and the risk of explosion in Towngas manholes is also relatively high.In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) when the Highways Department is expected to complete the inspection of all the manholes in Hong Kong; among the manholes of which inspection has been completed so far, of the number of those with very high risk of explosion, as well as the districts in which they are located;

(b) whether it has considered further enhancing the safety equipment provided to persons entering and working in manholes, with a view to reducing the chances of accidents;

(c) of the details of the current safety standards stipulated for the materials for various types of pipes to be used in manholes; and whether it will focus on manholes with relatively high risk of gas explosion, and examine upgrading the safety standards of the materials for the pipes used in such manholes; if it will not, of the reason for that;

(d) what new measures are in place to reduce the accumulation of explosive gases, such as methane, in manholes; and

(e) whether it will consider formulating an explosion risk classification table for all the manholes in Hong Kong and making it available for public inspection?

Reply:

President,

(a) To more thoroughly assess the systemic explosion risk of manholes on public roads and to study the relevant preventive measures, the Highways Department (HyD) completed a consultancy study entitled Prevention of Gas Explosion in Utility Manhole (the Study) in May 2008.The Study concluded that amongst the risk of gas explosion for the manholes of various public utilities, the risk level of manholes for town gas and those for telecommunication facilities is relatively higher.But the actual risk of individual manholes is closely related to their design, installation and surrounding environment (e.g. whether there are sources of flammable gas nearby).Given the unique nature of different types of manholes in terms of their operation, maintenance and safety, different types of manholes are put under the regulatory control of different authorities/departments.The Study under the HyD focused on the examination of the overall explosion risk and the preventive measures for different types of manholes, and its purpose was not to comprehensively inspect all manholes in Hong Kong.The crucial point, however, is that the measures for improvement of safety and reduction of risks and accidents suggested by the Study were being implemented and followed up.Details in this regard are set out in parts (c) and (d) of the reply below.As regards the general safety inspections for different types of manholes, they are conducted by the relevant authorities/departments according to other established procedures.

(b) Work safety in manholes is mainly governed by the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Confined Spaces) Regulation (the Regulation) administered by the Labour Department (LD).The Regulation sets out the safety requirements for working in confined spaces, including requirements for risk assessments to be carried out by competent persons and for workers to undergo approved safety training.On enforcement, the LD conducts routine inspections of the working conditions in confined spaces as well as surprise checks at night.Any proprietor or contractor who contravenes the Regulation is liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for 12 months.

The LD also seeks to enhance safety awareness of the trade on working in confined spaces through a variety of promotion and publicity activities, including:

- publications, such as the Code of Practice for Safety and Health at Work in Confined Spaces, Safety Guide for Work in Manholes and Prevention of Gas Poisoning in Drainage Work, to provide relevant duty holders with practical guidance for promotion of strict compliance with the Regulation;
- announcement in the Public Interest on television and radio as well asmini-dramas on radio;
- roving exhibitions; and
- health talks.

(c)&(d) At present, the materials for the ducts and valves installed in different types of manholes comply with the relevant safety standards.The Study has also identified the following feasible measures to reduce the risk of explosive gas accumulating inside manholes:

- sealing up ducts leading into manholes to prevent explosive gas from entering and accumulating inside manholes;
- filling up the empty space inside manholes with bags of light-weight and flame-retardant materials to prevent excessive volume of explosive gas from accumulating;
- enhancing the ventilation of the manholes by connecting them to vents or installing manhole covers with vent openings; and
- installing restraints on manhole covers to prevent them from substantial displacement in case of an explosion.

The Study also recommended that the relevant government departments and utility companies should, in the light of actual need, adopt the above precautionary measures for the type(s) of manholes under their purview.The HyD has passed the relevant information of the Study to other relevant government departments, public utilities and regulatory authorities for reference and follow-up action.

Cable manholes

Based on the recommendations of the Study, the HyD has completed the improvement works for all its cable manholes.To reduce the risk of gas explosion, empty space inside the manholes is filled up with bags of light-weight and flame-retardant materials to prevent excessive accumulation of explosive gas.

Electricity manholes

Local power companies usually lay their underground electricity cables using direct burial method under soil instead of wiring through underground ducts.Therefore, the chance of flammable gas entering the electricity manholes is low.The two power companies also conduct inspections of their respective manholes to ensure safety.The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) monitors the progress of their work.

Manholes for drainage and water supply facilities

On manholes under the management of the Drainage Services Department (DSD) and Water Supplies Department (WSD), the drains provide ventilation which reduces the risk of gas accumulation in drainage manholes.On the other hand, water pipes are sealed and there is no gap between pipes and manhole walls to allow entry of explosive gas into water supply manholes.Nonetheless, the DSD will continue to carry out preventive cleaning for its sewers and manholes regularly to further prevent and reduce the risk of explosive gas (such as methane) from accumulating.

Town gas manholes

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (HKCG) is installing restraints on the covers of its manholes (where necessary) to prevent substantial displacement of the covers in case of an explosion, as recommended in the Study.It is expected that the improvement works will be completed by end 2009.Moreover, the HKCG has implemented a series of measures to reduce the possibility of gas leakage from town gas pipes.The HKCG has since 2006 increased the number of routine leakage surveys for all underground medium pressure ductile iron (MPDI) pipes in Hong Kong from three to six times per year, while the EMSD has stepped up regular inspections and surprise checks.The HKCG has also drawn up annual programmes for replacing MPDI pipes with polyethylene pipes which perform better in preventing gas leakage.

Manholes for telecommunication facilities

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority has set up a Joint Forum comprising representatives from the fixed network operators, the HyD, EMSD and Fire Services Department with a view to identifying specific measures and implementation plans for mitigating the risk of gas explosion in telecommunications manholes.The Joint Forum meets regularly to co-ordinate the development of mitigation measures and risk assessments.The aim is to work out a set of guidelines or code of practice on risk mitigation of gas explosion for compliance by the relevant fixed network operators.

(e) The Study has assessed the relative risks of gas explosion for different types of manholes and proposed specific preventive measures.Accordingly, the relevant entities have taken corresponding measures to further reduce the risk of their facilities.The relevant authorities and departments do not consider there is a need to formulate an explosion risk classification table covering individual manholes.