Author Archives: hksar gov

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (November 15) signed a memorandum of co-operation (MOC) with the Hong Kong Green Building Council, the Building Services Operation and Maintenance Executives Society, the Macao Institution of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, the City Air-conditioning Energy Conservation and Control of Guangdong Project Technology Research Exploitation Center of the South China University of Technology, the Building Energy Conservation Research Center of Tsinghua University and the Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences at the “Co-creating a Smart Future” Symposium to promote the development and application of retro-commissioning (RCx) of buildings in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, also attended the ceremony to witness the signing of the MOC.
 
     Through conducting regular “health checkups” of a building’s energy performance to identify areas of energy saving for operational improvement, RCx is a cost-effective solution for building owners to fine-tune their building systems and equipment with a view to achieving optimal operation efficiency and reducing operating costs.
 
     The Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Alfred Sit, said that the MOC aimed to promote further collaboration between various organisations in the Greater Bay Area and other Mainland cities to adopt RCx as a new solution for achieving building energy efficiency through sharing of knowledge, experience and training. He also said he believed that this methodology could be promoted to other cities in the Mainland to achieve greater synergy in energy saving and emission reduction.
 
     The EMSD has all along been promoting RCx through various measures, which include publishing technical guidelines, organising seminars and sharing sessions, and setting up an online resource centre for information sharing. Meanwhile, the Government is also partnering with public bodies, such as the ACT-Shop Programme of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, and offering relevant hands-on training certification programmes for the industry to deepen professional knowledge on RCx.

  

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (November 15) that a public auction for stalls at the 2019 New Year Fair at Fong Ma Po, Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, will be held on November 29 (Thursday).
 
     A spokesman for the FEHD said the annual fair will be held for 15 days from February 5 to 19, 2019. The opening prices for the 22 dry goods stalls and six wet goods stalls are $1,300 and $1,290 respectively.
 
     The auction will begin at 9.30am at the Assembly Hall, 1/F, Tai Po Community Centre, 2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po. Dry goods stalls will be auctioned first, followed by wet goods stalls.
 
     Bidders must be at least 18 years old and ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.
    
     Anyone can bid for more than one stall. A bidder must pay the bid price and register in his or her own name as the licensee of the stall immediately after successfully bidding for a stall. The bidder is also required to sign at once a licence agreement with the FEHD, or will forfeit the rights to operate the stall.
 
     The spokesman said that successful bidders should comply with all the stipulations and provisions as set out in the licence agreement. Otherwise, the department is entitled to terminate the agreement and the licensee shall immediately vacate the stall.
 
     For the conservation of the Wish-Making Trees, stall operators will not be allowed to sell placards tied to any heavy object (including fruit). The licence agreements of those who fail to comply with the requirement will be terminated.
 
     The fair site will be made available three days in advance for the setting up of stalls from February 2 to 4, 2019. However, no business shall be conducted on these three days.
 
     Stall licensees should not destroy, damage or abandon any unsold commodities at and in the vicinity of the stall. They shall completely remove the stall structure and all paraphernalia, together with all refuse, debris and unsold commodities (whether damaged or otherwise), from the licensed area before 6pm on February 19, 2019.
 
     For more information about the auction, please call the FEHD’s Tai Po District Environmental Hygiene Office at 3183 9162 or 2657 1137. Details are also available on the FEHD website at www.fehd.gov.hk.
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     The Transport Department (TD) today (November 15) reminded the public that special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented this Saturday (November 17) to facilitate the holding of a public procession on Hong Kong Island.

     The special traffic and transport arrangements mainly include:

* From about 2pm, traffic lanes of certain major roads in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Admiralty and Central including Yee Wo Street, Hennessy Road, Queensway and Harcourt Road will be intermittently closed to all vehicular traffic, until the crowd is dispersed and the traffic returns to normal; and 

* From about 2pm, 58 bus routes and nine green minibus routes on Hong Kong Island will be temporarily diverted in phases, until the crowd is dispersed and the traffic returns to normal.

     The TD anticipates that the traffic in the vicinity of Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Admiralty and Central will be significantly congested. Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, they should exercise tolerance and patience, and follow the instructions of the Police. Members of the public who plan to go to the affected areas are advised to plan their routes early, allow more travelling time to cater for unexpected delay, and use public transport services as far as possible. Public transport commuters are advised to pay attention to the arrangements of route diversion and changes of stop locations.

     Depending on the actual traffic conditions in the areas, other temporary traffic and transport measures, including road closures and traffic diversion as well as alteration and suspension of public transport services, may be implemented by the Police. Members of the public are advised to be alert to the latest traffic news on radio and television.

     Details of the special traffic and transport arrangements are now available on the TD’s website (www.td.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call 1823. read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:
 
     The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC), the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Hong Kong Catering Industry Association (HKCIA) will jointly hold a publicity and education campaign entitled “Plastic-Free Takeaway, Use Reusable Tableware” to encourage members of the public to go plastic-and-disposable-free for takeaway orders so as to reduce the use of disposable plastic tableware. Representatives from various food and beverage (F&B) associations and companies and green groups attended a launch ceremony today (November 15) to show their support for the plastic-free campaign, in the hope that various sectors of the community can join together to help realise the vision of a plastic-free ocean.
 
     Speaking at the launch ceremony, the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, said that the Government is highly concerned about the environmental impact of plastic waste, and is committed to organising a wide range of activities to encourage members of the public to reduce the use of disposable plastic tableware and practise waste reduction at source. Following the “Plastic Free Beach, Tableware First” campaign held at public beaches and nearby eateries in mid-2018, the EPD is joining the ECC, the F&B sector and three major fast food chains to launch the “Plastic-Free Takeaway, Use Reusable Tableware” campaign to encourage various sectors to minimise single-use plastic waste by bringing their own reusable cutlery and going plastic-and-disposable-free when they order takeaways.
 
     Mr Wong pointed out that the support of the F&B sector is indispensable to the successful implementation of the plastic-free campaign. He said he believes that participation of the three major fast food chains will play a leading role in the F&B sector, encouraging more companies from the sector and other stakeholders to go plastic-free and raise public awareness to do the same, with a view to promoting waste reduction for all. He added that the campaign is a good example of tripartite collaboration between the general public, the trade and the Government.
 
     In addition to partnering with the F&B sector, the Government will continue to implement a number of enhanced and new initiatives to reduce the use of disposable plastic tableware, Mr Wong said. Starting from January next year, the Government will take the lead in banning plastic straws and polyfoam food containers in premises mainly serving government staff, and requiring restaurant operators in government venues to avoid using disposable plastic tableware when awarding new or renewing existing contracts through tender exercises. In the long run, the Government will study the feasibility, scope and mechanism of controlling or banning disposable plastic tableware. 
 
     The first phase of the “Plastic-Free Takeaway, Use Reusable Tableware” campaign will be held as a pilot programme at the three major fast food chains in Hong Kong (Café de Coral, Fairwood and Maxim’s MX) for about two months. Starting from tomorrow (November 16), members of the public can get a sticker for each disposable-free takeaway order they make at the participating fast food chains. After collecting six stickers, they can redeem a set of reusable stainless steel cutlery for free or enjoy a complimentary hot drink at the restaurants as necessary, so as to encourage members of the public to go plastic-and-disposable-free when ordering takeaways. They are also advised to use the redeemed cutlery suitably or share the free gifts with others to help promote the green practice.
 
     The ECC and the EPD will maintain close liaison with different stakeholders in the F&B sector and extend the campaign to cover more restaurants, with reference to the implementation of the pilot scheme and its operational experience, with a view to enabling the plastic-and-disposable-free culture to take root in the community.
 
     In addition to the campaign, to support the United Nations theme of “Beat Plastic Pollution” for this year’s World Environment Day, the ECC is holding a series of activities to promote the concept of going plastic-and-disposable-free, including the “NO Disposables Campus Award” and plastic-free online games. A reusable tableware lending programme will also be launched next month to provide free reusable cutlery sets for large-scale event organisers. For details of various ECC projects and activities promoting waste reduction and plastic-free, please visit the website www.ecc.org.hk.
 
     Other officiating guests at today’s launch ceremony included the Chairman of the HKCIA, Mr Tommy Cheung; Convenor of the ECC Publicity Working Group and member of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee Ms Li Chun-chau; and the Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Mr Donald Tong. The ceremony was also joined by representatives from the three supporting organisations, namely the Assistant Corporate Director of Café de Coral Holdings Limited (Ltd), Ms Joyce Chiu; the Operation Manager of Fairwood Holdings Ltd Sales and Operations Department, Mr Eric Chan; and the Head of Marketing of Maxim’s Group Quick Service Restaurant and Catering Services Division, Mr Alex Lam.

        

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:        The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to a press release issued by The Bank of East Asia, Limited on f… read more