The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, accompanied by the Secretary for Development, Mr Michael Wong and the Under Secretary for Security, Mr Sonny Au, inspected the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point (BCP) project this morning (March 14) to learn about the latest situation of the cross-boundary infrastructure.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials first travelled through the connecting road linking the new BCP with the Fanling Highway. The connecting road named Heung Yuen Wai Highway is about 11 km long, which includes Lung Shan Tunnel and Cheung Shan Tunnel. The 4.8 km-long Lung Shan Tunnel is the longest road tunnel on land in Hong Kong. A number of unique engineering techniques had been adopted for the first time in Hong Kong during its construction, including the adoption of earth pressure balanced tunnel boring machine with a diameter of 14.1 metres to tackle the excavation challenges brought about by the ground conditions of the tunnel. When the tunnel boring machine completed southbound tube excavation, it made two 90 degree turns inside the underground cavern to continue work for the northbound tube.  This innovative technique was used for the first time in Hong Kong, saving construction time, minimising impact on the environment and enhancing efficiency.
 
     Mrs Lam and the other officials then visited the construction site of the Passenger Terminal Building of the new BCP to inspect the situation of works. They were briefed by relevant departments on the progress of the installation of facilities and equipment in the building as well as the future clearance arrangement. The specially-designed Passenger Terminal Building is the winning entry of the International Design Ideas Competition co-organised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government in 2010. The competition, with the theme "People Foremost, a Vista of New Connection", sought to blend the structures on both sides of the boundary into the surrounding environment and present a consistent image and style, providing a seamless and comfortable feel for passengers during immigration clearance under the "separate location" arrangement at the Passenger Terminal Building .
 
     "The new BCP will be the seventh land-based control point on the Shenzhen-Hong Kong boundary (note 1), and is the first port designed and constructed with the concept of providing direct access facilities for both passengers and vehicles. The public may take public transport, private cars or walk through the pedestrian subway to reach the new BCP for immigration clearance. The new BCP is designed to handle 17 850 vehicle trips and 30 000 passenger trips daily," Mrs Lam said after the inspection.
 
     Currently all cross-boundary traffic going from the eastern New Territories to the eastern Shenzhen and Guangdong has to travel through busy local roads in Hong Kong and Shenzhen via the two existing boundary control points at Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok. The new BCP will help re-distribute cross-boundary traffic among the land-based control points in the east. In addition, the dual two-lane Heung Yuen Wai Highway which links up with Fanling Highway interchange, via Sha Tau Kok Road, Ping Yeung and Lin Ma Hang Road interchanges, will improve traffic in the North District and alleviate the busy traffic conditions in the Sha Tau Kok and Ta Kwu Ling area.
 
     The new BCP will connect with the Shenzhen Eastern Corridor to Longgang, reaching the eastern part of Guangdong Province via the Shenzhen-Huizhou Expressway (Huizhou-Yantian Expressway) or the Shenzhen-Shantou Expressway, providing a direct and efficient cross-boundary access between Hong Kong and eastern Shenzhen, Huizhou as well as eastern Guangdong, and enhancing the "one-hour living circle" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
 
     According to works progress, Heung Yuen Wai Highway is in the final testing and commissioning stage and anticipated to be opened for use later this year to alleviate traffic in the North District. As for the construction of the new BCP, the follow-up equipment installation and testing works have commenced. The Government strives to complete the construction of the new BCP this year, and will continue the ongoing co-ordination with the Shenzhen Government to determine the commissioning schedule for the new BCP.
 
Note 1: Currently there are six land-based control points (BCPs) on the Shenzhen-Hong Kong boundary, of which Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, Lok Ma Chau and Shenzhen Bay are vehicular BCPs, while Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line are railway BCPs.

        

     The delegation of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board (HKMPB) led by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, continued their visit to Norway today (March 14, Oslo time).

     In the morning, Mr Chan called on the Minister of Trade and Industry of Norway, Mr Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, to learn about the latest developments of Norway's maritime industry, promote Hong Kong's high value-added maritime services and exchange views on strengthening co-operation between the two places. Meanwhile, members of the delegation met with the Norwegian Shipowners Association to discuss global maritime issues of mutual interest and encourage the Norwegian maritime sector to leverage on Hong Kong's services to expand markets.

     Mr Chan and the delegation then toured the Vision of the Fjords, a hybrid electric sightseeing vessel designed and built in Norway, to understand the development and application of technology of green shipping.

     For the last stop in Oslo, Mr Chan and the delegation met with representatives from DNV GL, which is an international accredited classification society, to exchange views on the industry development prospects in respect of vessel safety, shipping equipment and technology.

     Mr Chan and members of the delegation will depart for Bergen later today.

        

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     Legislative Council (LegCo) Members continued their site visit to various shopping centres of public rental housing estates and Home Ownership Scheme estates today (March 14) to follow up on complaints put forward by deputations relating to the further sale of these facilities by Link Real Estate Investment Trust.

     Accompanied by representatives of the Housing Department and the Lands Department, LegCo Members visited Hing Man Commercial Centre in Chai Wan, Ming Tak Shopping Centre in Tseung Kwan O, Kam Tai Shopping Centre in Ma On Shan, Sui Wo Court Commercial Centre in Sha Tin and Tin Ma Court Commercial Centre in Wong Tai Sin today.  During the site visit, Members exchanged views with the deputations and business tenants to understand their concerns.  Members also visited the lift tower, slope and fire hose of Sui Wo Court to understand the maintenance responsibility of these facilities.   

     Members who participated in the visit were Mr Andrew Wan (Convenor), Mrs Regina Ip , Dr Kwok Ka-ki, Ms Yung Hoi-yan, Dr Cheng Chung-tai, Mr Gary Fan and Mr Au Nok-hin.
 

        

     The Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF) from March 8 to 17 (Osaka time) is featuring a "Special Focus on Hong Kong" with the aim of giving Japanese movie lovers an opportunity to feel the vibrancy of Hong Kong while also enjoying its films.

     This is the eighth year in a row that the OAFF has run the programme, along with support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Tokyo).

     As a major part of the "Special Focus on Hong Kong", a "Hong Kong Night" was held this evening (March 14, Osaka time), during which "Still Human", directed by Ms Oliver Chan, was watched by some 300 movie fans.
 
     Speaking before the movie screening, the Principal Hong Kong Economic and Trade Representative (Tokyo), Ms Shirley Yung, noted that "Still Human" is a winning project of the Hong Kong Government's First Feature Film Initiative, which seeks to identify and nurture talent by providing financial support for the winners to make their first commercial feature films.

     "The Film Development Fund was set up 20 years ago to support projects conducive to the long-term development of the Hong Kong film industry. The Hong Kong Government will continue to give full support to the further development of our film industry," Ms Yung said.

     At the movie screening, Ms Yung was joined by Hong Kong film talents whose works have been selected for screening at the film festival.

    

The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:

     In response to media enquiries on the meeting with representatives of the Association of Hong Kong Nursing Staff (AHKNS) this morning, the spokesperson for the Hospital Authority (HA) made the following reply today (March 14): 
 
     The HA has all along been very concerned about the heavy workload that front-line nurses are facing. The HA met with representatives of the AHKNS this morning and explained the measures taken to relieve the workload of front-line nurses. The measures include recruiting more nurses apart from the existing establishment, increasing promotion posting, significantly increasing the training places for sponsored enrolled nurses to undertake registered nurses conversion programmes, employing more part-time nurses in the short term and offering an additional incremental salary point for nurses who have attained the requirements as specialty nurses.
 
     In the year 2018-19, the HA has already recruited over 2 400 nurses, exceeding the original target of 2 230. In addition, the recruitment target of the next year, which is set to be 2 270, is expected to be exceeded. The HA will continue to recruit full-time nurses after replenishing wastage and manpower for new services. Additional manpower will hopefully relieve front-line workload.
 
     Furthermore, the HA will increase promotion posts to retain staff in the year 2019-20. To enhance senior coverage at night, 350 posts of Advance Practice Nurse will be added. Ten positions for Nurse Consultants will also be added. With regard to clerical support, 200 additional ward clerks will be recruited to enhance clerical support and coverage. The HA will continue to employ part-time nurses to alleviate the work pressure of front-line nurses in the interim.
 
     With additional funding support from the Government, the HA will offer an additional incremental salary point to registered nurses who have attained the requirements as specialty nurses to encourage professional development of nursing care, with details to be announced soon.
 
     Regarding the proposal raised by the AHKNS on a salary review of nursing staff such as the enrolled nurse salary and on resumption of a previous pay scale, the HA will cautiously study the impact of the proposal with the Government, in particular the financial feasibility. In addition, the HA will significantly increase the training places by 50 per cent for sponsored enrolled nurses to undertake registered nurses conversion programmes.
 
     Given the diverse views with regard to shift arrangements for nurses, the HA will continue to liaise with them to arrive at a consensus.
   
     The HA expresses gratitude to the AHKNS for its suggestions raised at the meeting and will maintain close communication with nursing staff groups.