The Transport Department (TD) today (December 14) reminded members of the public that temporary special traffic and transport arrangements will be implemented in phases at various locations on Hong Kong Island North and in Kowloon East and Tseung Kwan O from 1am this Sunday (December 17) to facilitate the holding of the Hong Kong Streetathon 2023.
 
     The full marathon race will start at the Island Eastern Corridor (IEC) near Hing Fat Street and route through major road sections including the IEC, the Central-Wan Chai Bypass, Lung Wo Road, then turn back and route via the IEC before turning back at A Kung Ngam and route through the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC), Cha Kwo Ling Road, Kwun Tong Bypass, Hoi Bun Road, the Kai Tak Tunnel and East Kowloon Corridor to the finishing point at San Shan Road in To Kwa Wan.
 
     The half marathon race will start at the IEC near Hing Fat Street and route through the IEC, the EHC, Cha Kwo Ling Road, Kwun Tong Bypass, Hoi Bun Road, the Kai Tak Tunnel and East Kowloon Corridor before reaching the finishing point at San Shan Road in To Kwa Wan.
 
     The 10-kilometre race will start at Tseung Lam Highway near LOHAS Park and route through Tseung Lam Highway, Cha Kwo Ling Road and Kwun Tong Bypass, and finish at Hoi Bun Road in Kwun Tong.
 
     Subject to the race arrangements and progress, the road sections along the race routes will be temporarily closed in phases from 1am on December 17 until the reopening of roads at about 1pm. Motorists are advised to pay attention to the traffic signs erected at the scenes and consider using alternative routes to destinations.
 
     Due to temporary road closures, the TD anticipates that the traffic at various locations on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon will be more significantly congested when compared with normal Sundays, including:
 

• Hong Kong Island: King's Road, Java Road, Shau Kei Wan Road, Causeway Road, Victoria Park Road, Yee Wo Street, Gloucester Road, Hennessy Road, Connaught Road Central, Harcourt Road, Queensway, the Aberdeen Tunnel (Wan Chai bound) and in the vicinity of Central Ferry Pier; and
• Kowloon: Kwun Tong Road, Wai Yip Street, Prince Edward Road East and Kowloon Bay areas.

       
     Motorists are advised to avoid driving to the above affected areas. In case of traffic congestion, motorists should exercise patience, drive with care and follow the instructions of the Police on-site.
 
     In view of temporary road closures, 57 bus routes (including 18 from KMB, 19 from Citybus and 20 Cross Harbour Bus routes) and 19 Green Minibus routes will be affected and subject to diversions, truncations or relocation of stops in phases until the reopening of roads. During the road closure period, taxi stands (including taxi pick-up/drop-off points), public light bus stands, roadside parking spaces and private car parks on the roads affected will be suspended.
 
     To enable participants travelling to Causeway Bay for the half and full marathon races with the earliest starting times from 4.45am and 5am respectively, the first departures of all MTR rail lines (except Airport Express and Disneyland Resort Line) will be advanced suitably this Sunday, with the first departures on the Tuen Ma Line and East Rail Line to be operated at 3.05am. In addition, nine special bus routes will also be operated to serve participants going to Causeway Bay this Sunday.
 
     Members of the public should plan their journeys early to avoid unexpected delays, use public transport services (particularly railway services) as far as possible, and pay attention to the arrangements of temporary route diversions and relocations of stops. They may browse the TD's website (www.td.gov.hk) or mobile application "HKeMobility" for information about the special traffic and transport information, or may also browse relevant public transport operators' websites or mobile applications for details of service changes.
 
     The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation. Other temporary road and traffic control measures, including adjusting the extent of road closures, and alteration or suspension of public transport services may be implemented by the Police at short notice depending on the actual traffic conditions. Members of the public are advised to stay alert to the latest traffic news through the media.

     â€‹The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (December 14) announced the test results of a recently completed seasonal food surveillance project on lap-mei. Among 163 samples tested, except for two samples found with sodium content inconsistent with the declared values on their nutrition labels, all the remaining samples passed the tests. The CFS has announced the irregularities earlier, and the vendors concerned have also stopped selling the relevant batch of the affected products. Prosecutions will be instituted should there be sufficient evidence.  

     A spokesman for the CFS said, "Lap-mei is popular in winter and the CFS has therefore collected a variety of lap-mei samples including Chinese pork sausages, Chinese liver sausages, preserved duck meat and preserved pork from different retailers including online retailers for chemical tests and nutrition content analyses."

     Chemical tests targeted veterinary drug residues, metallic contaminants, preservatives usually found in preserved food, phthalates which may be found due to their widespread presence as environmental contaminants or transferring from food contact materials, as well as other food additives which may be used in the production process and colouring matters which are not permitted in food (including Rhodamine B and Red 2G). For nutrition content analyses, the contents of energy, carbohydrates, protein, total fat, saturated fatty acids, trans fatty acids, sodium and sugars of the samples were tested to check if they were consistent with their declared values on the nutrition label.

     "Members of the public should maintain a balanced diet and avoid excessive consumption of lap-mei in view of its nitrate/nitrite level and potential risk of nitrosamine, as well as the relatively higher sodium, sugar and fat content in some lap-mei. Infants are highly susceptible to nitrite toxicity and should avoid consuming lap-mei, while for young children, the intake of lap-mei should also be restricted.

     "Furthermore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization has classified processed meat as 'carcinogenic to humans' (Group 1). The public should avoid excessive consumption of processed meat to reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer," the spokesman said.

     The spokesman also called on the trade to comply with the legal requirements, follow good manufacturing practices and use permitted food additives in an appropriate manner. Retailers should source food from reliable suppliers and maintain a good recording system in accordance with the Food Safety Ordinance to allow source tracing if needed.

  

     â€‹The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (December 14) that in view of a notification from the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary about an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in Komárom-Esztergom County in Hungary, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products from the area with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong.

     A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Hungary for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 270 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Hungary in the first nine months of this year. 

     â€‹"The CFS has contacted the Hungarian authority over the issue and will closely monitor information issued by the World Organisation for Animal Health and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreak. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation," the spokesman said.

    The Government Property Agency (GPA) is inviting a tender for a licence to use and operate the fuel supply system for vessels on portions of the China Ferry Terminal, 33 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

     The premises should only be used for the supply of the industrial gas oil for vessels. 

    The tender notice was uploaded today (December 14) to the GPA Property Portal: www.gpaproperty.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 9/F, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, during the period from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, except public holidays. The documents can also be downloaded from the GPA Property Portal.

     Interested tenderers who wish to conduct a site inspection of the premises should make a prior appointment with the Agency by calling 3842 6777 on or before December 22.

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Logistics Department Tender Box situated on the Ground Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong, before noon on January 4, 2024. Late tenders will not be accepted.

     The Government Property Agency (GPA) is inviting two separate tenders for tenancies of (i) Shop No. 509 and (ii) Shop No. 510 on the First Floor, Passenger Clearance Building, 33 Shun Fai Road, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port, Lantau, Hong Kong, each for a three-year tenancy subject to the provisions for renewal for a further term of two years.

     Both premises should only be used for general retail and/or services purposes (excluding the sale of cigarette, cigar or other tobacco products). 

     The tender notices were uploaded today (December 14) to the GPA Property Portal: www.gpaproperty.gov.hk. Tender documents are available for collection at the Government Property Agency, 9/F, South Tower, West Kowloon Government Offices, 11 Hoi Ting Road, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, during the period from 9am to 6pm from Monday to Friday, except public holidays. The documents can also be downloaded from the GPA Property Portal.

     Interested tenderers who wish to conduct a site inspection of the premises should make a prior appointment with the Agency by calling 3842 6916 on or before January 2, 2024.

     Tenderers must submit their tenders by placing them in the Government Logistics Department Tender Box situated on the Ground Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong, before noon on January 15, 2024. Late tenders will not be accepted.