Remarks by STL on Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles at media session
Following are the remarks by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Ms Mable Chan, at a media session after attending the opening ceremony of automated "Park & Fly" carpark of the Airport Authority Hong Kong today (November 15):
Reporter: The (Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles) scheme is now only reserved for residents in four cities, namely Jiangmen, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. When is the schedule for opening up to residents of other cities? My second question is there have been quite a lot of social media clips showing that the vehicles from Guangdong province side, maybe they are not familiar with the traffic rules in Hong Kong, and therefore, there are a lot of violations. How would the Transport and Logistics Bureau step up the education on Hong Kong traffic rules to these drivers to mitigate such kind of hazards that they might bring?
Secretary for Transport and Logistics:The Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme is an innovative policy which enhances the connection between Guangdong area and Hong Kong. The proximity of the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge form a synergy in order to provide multimodal, i.e. land transport and air transport for Guangdong residents to enable them to experience destinations provided by the HKIA. As far as the second part of the scheme is concerned, we are making different kinds of efforts on different fronts in order to ensure safety, enable convenience and benefit various sectors and trades in Hong Kong. We work very closely with Guangdong entities and authorities. The Bureau stressed the importance of vehicle safety as well as road safety. That is why we have already provided a total of around nine places to conduct vehicle examination. During the vehicle examination process, we will also enhance the awareness and provide useful tips on the road safety requirements of Hong Kong to educate the Guangdong residents.
I am sure through our various means of promotion and education, we will ensure that they will observe the requirements of driving in Hong Kong and we will also continue to provide different promotional materials to enable their cars and vehicles to divert into various spaces such as hotels, sports facilities, convention facilities, so that they can spend some money in Hong Kong and also can stay overnight in Hong Kong in order to enhance the economy and tourism in Hong Kong.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)
The lane for Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles. Photo source: CCTV News
Government continues to support owners having engaged Will Power and Prestige
The Police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption stated earlier today (June 10) that they had laid charges against Will Power Architects Company Limited (Will Power) and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co., Limited (Prestige), as well as seven individuals who played different roles in the major maintenance project of Wang Fuk Court. The Government understands that some buildings and housing estates have hired these two companies as consultant or contractor for their building maintenance works. As the individuals and companies involved will no longer be able to perform their duties for the works, the Government is providing appropriate support to assist these owners in following up the relevant works having regard to their circumstances.
For owners who have engaged Will Power as their consultant with the maintenance works commenced, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) announced yesterday (June 9) that it would provide transitional arrangement free-of-charge for approximately 37 cases that have received URA's building rehabilitation subsidies or support services, so as to assist the owners in engaging an Independent Reviewer to promptly conduct third-party assessment, clarify the fees for the completed but not yet paid works so that the owners' corporations (OCs)/ owners can pay to the contractors, as well as prepare tender documents for the appointment of a new works consultant. As for a few cases that are not URA's original clients, the URA may also provide such transitional arrangement on a fee-paying basis. Please refer to the press release issued by the URA for details (www.ura.org.hk/en/news-centre/press-releases/20260609).
As for cases where Will Power has been engaged as consultant but yet to sign the works contract with the contractor, the owners should first terminate the contract with Will Power, and then consider engaging a new works consultant through the enhanced "Smart Tender" to be launched by the Government and the URA. In this connection, in order to facilitate owners' termination of the consultancy services of Will Power, the Development Bureau (DEVB) has, in consultation with the URA and the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS), compiled a set of reference materials to provide advice to the OCs on the termination of the consultancy services of Will Power and follow-up matters. The District Offices will contact the affected OCs and owners through their district networks to provide relevant reference materials and arrange briefings by the URA and the HKIS to these OCs and owners where necessary.
In addition, regarding cases where Prestige has been engaged as the contractor while their consultant is not Will Power, since qualified consultants have been engaged for these maintenance works, the consultants have the responsibility to assist owners in supervising their contractors' work and addressing any issues that arise during the course of the works. Hence, the owners should discuss possible solutions with their consultants, including terminating the existing works contracts, and consider seeking legal advice where necessary. The District Offices will continue to contact the affected OCs and owners through their district networks to provide appropriate support.
If buildings have received Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme notices and the compliance period has expired or will expire shortly, the Buildings Department (BD) will exercise discretion on a case-by-case basis.
Furthermore, a DEVB spokesman said that the BD had removed Prestige from the register of general building contractors in February this year. However, this will not exempt Prestige or the relevant individuals from criminal liabilities under the Buildings Ordinance. For contractors, registered inspectors and other involved persons who have violated the Ordinance, the BD will separately take prosecution actions and impose penalties having regard to the investigation results.
Source: AI-found images
