The Lands Department (LandsD) today (May 24) announced the proposal for the resumption of land for the establishment of an Agricultural Park in Kwu Tung South – Phase 2 First Stage under the Lands Resumption Ordinance (Chapter 124).
 
     The proposal involves the resumption of 150 private lots with an area of about 15.6 hectares. Details were published in the notice gazetted today. The notice is affixed in a conspicuous place on or near the land proposed to be resumed. A copy of the notice and resumption plan are also available on the LandsD website (www.landsd.gov.hk/en/resources/gov-notices/acq.html). Members of the public may also inspect the above-mentioned documents at the following government offices during office hours:
 

• Central and Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre, G/F, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong;
• North Home Affairs Enquiry Centre, G/F, North District Government Offices, 3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling, New Territories; and
• District Lands Office, North, 6/F, North District Government Offices, 3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling, New Territories.

     The owner, occupier of the land or any person having any right in relation to the land to be resumed, who wishes to object to the proposed resumption, is required to submit a written objection to the Director of Lands. The written objection must sufficiently identify the aforementioned identity of the objector and describe how the objector will be affected by the proposal. Objectors are requested to provide contact details and deliver written objections to the Director of Lands on or before July 23 via one of the following means:
 

• By post or by hand to the District Lands Office, North, 6/F, North District Government Offices, 3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling, New Territories;
• By fax to 2675 9224; or
• By email to gendlon@landsd.gov.hk.

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

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold the third public hearing on "Provision and monitoring of Rehabus services" (Chapter 5) of the Director of Audit's Report No. 82 tomorrow (May 25) at 9am in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex.

     Five witnesses have been invited to appear before the above hearing to respond to points raised in the Report and answer questions asked by PAC members.

     The programme for the public hearing is as follows:

Subject: Provision and monitoring of Rehabus services
(Chapter 5 of the Director of Audit's Report No.82)
Date: May 25 (Saturday)
Time: 9am
Venue: Conference Room 1

Witnesses:

Mr Chris Sun
Secretary for Labour and Welfare

Ms Susan Chan
Assistant Commissioner for Rehabilitation
Labour and Welfare Bureau

Ms Angela Lee
Commissioner for Transport

Mr Curtis Chiu
Principal Transport Officer/Ferry and Paratransit
Transport Department

Ms Christine Yuen
Chief Transport Officer/Planning/Disabled Transport
Transport Department

     The PAC is chaired by Mr Shiu Ka-fai, and its Deputy Chairman is Mr Paul Tse. Other members are Ms Yung Hoi-yan, Mr Luk Chung-hung, Mr Edmund Wong, Mr Louis Loong and Ms Carmen Kan.

     To prepare for the onboarding of the second batch of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) schemes to the eMPF Platform, the Government published in the Gazette today (May 24) the following legal notices:
 
(i) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Specification of Dates for Purposes of Section 19M(2)(a)) (Amendment) Notice 2024 (Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notice 2024); and
 
(ii) the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19U(4)) (Amendment) Notice 2024, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19Y(3)) (Amendment) Notice 2024, and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Appointment of Dates for Purposes of Section 19Z(4)) (Amendment) Notice 2024 (collectively Fee Control (Amendment) Notices 2024).
 
     The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 (Amendment Ordinance 2021) enacted by the Legislative Council (LegCo) in October 2021 provides the necessary legal basis for the implementation of the eMPF Platform, and confers power on the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to publish legal notices in the Gazette to put certain provisions of the Amendment Ordinance 2021 into operation when the eMPF Platform is ready for use. Such legal notices will be published in the Gazette in batches to dovetail with the phased onboarding of MPF trustees in ascending order of their assets-under-management size. The first batch of legal notices was gazetted in April 2024 to prepare for the launch of the eMPF Platform on June 26, 2024.
 
     On the mandatory use of the eMPF Platform by MPF trustees, the Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notice 2024 specifies September 3, 2024, October 2, 2024, and October 29, 2024, as the "material day" for the purposes of section 19M(2)(a) of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485) (MPFSO) for the BCOM Joyful Retirement MPF Scheme administered by the Bank of Communications Trustee Limited, the SHKP MPF Employer Sponsored Scheme administered by the Standard Chartered Trustee (Hong Kong) Limited, and the BEA (MPF) Value Scheme administered by the Bank of East Asia (Trustees) Limited respectively. On cost savings and fee-setting of MPF schemes to be charged by MPF trustees on scheme members, the Fee Control (Amendment) Notices 2024 appoint December 3, 2024, January 2, 2025, and January 29, 2025, as the "material day" for the purposes of sections 19U(4), 19Y(3) and 19Z(4) of the MPFSO for the constituent funds of the BCOM Joyful Retirement MPF Scheme, the SHKP MPF Employer Sponsored Scheme, and the BEA (MPF) Value Scheme respectively. Mandatory Use (Amendment) Notices and Fee Control (Amendment) Notices for the remaining MPF trustees will be published when the respective onboarding dates are ascertained having regard to their onboarding preparation status.
 
     "With the phased onboarding of the second batch of MPF trustees to the eMPF Platform commencing in September 2024, more scheme members and employers will be able to enjoy a new experience in managing their MPF. As regards scheme members and employers whose MPF schemes have yet been onboarded to the eMPF Platform, there is no need to rush to register for an account as their MPF account information has yet been migrated to the Platform," a spokesperson for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said.
 
     If scheme members/employers have any question regarding the detailed operation of the eMPF Platform, they may visit the Platform's official website (empf.org.hk), or call the Platform's customer service hotline (183 2622).
 
     The aforementioned legal notices will be tabled at the LegCo for negative vetting on May 29, 2024.

     The Government gazetted today (May 24) the proposed road works at Tsiu Keng Road for the establishment of the Agricultural Park in Kwu Tung South – Phase 2 first stage works.

     Details of the proposal are set out in the Annex. The plan and scheme of the works are available for public inspection at the following government offices during office hours:
 
Central and Western Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, Harbour Building,
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
 
North Home Affairs Enquiry Centre,
G/F, North District Government Offices,
3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling, New Territories
 
District Lands Office, North,
6/F, North District Government Offices,
3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling, New Territories
 
     The gazette notice, scheme, plan, resumption plan and location plan are available at www.tlb.gov.hk/eng/publications/transport/gazette/gazette.html.
 
     Any person who wishes to object to the works or the use, or both, is required to address to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics an objection in writing, which can be submitted via the following means:
 

• By post or by hand to the Transport and Logistics Bureau's Drop-in Box No. 6 located at the entrance on 2/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong. The box is available for use between 8am and 7pm from Monday to Friday (except public holidays);
• By fax to 2868 4643; or
• By email to gazettetlb@tlb.gov.hk.

 
     A notice of objection should describe the objector's interest and the manner in which he or she alleges that he or she will be affected by the works or the use. Objectors are requested to provide contact details to facilitate communication. A notice of objection should be delivered to the Secretary for Transport and Logistics not later than July 23, 2024.

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (May 24) announced an adjustment to the auto-LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations from June 1 to June 30, 2024, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contracts for dedicated LPG filling stations.
      
     A department spokesman said that the adjustment on June 1, 2024, would reflect the movement of the LPG international price in May 2024, and the average movement of the latest Composite Consumer Price Index and Nominal Wage Index. The overall adjusted auto-LPG ceiling prices for dedicated LPG filling stations would range from $3.55 to $4.45 per litre, amounting to a decrease of $0.14 to $0.15 per litre.
      
     The spokesman said that the auto-LPG ceiling prices were adjusted according to a pricing formula specified in the contracts. The formula comprises two elements – the LPG international price and the LPG operating price. The LPG international price refers to the LPG international price of the preceding month. The LPG operating price is adjusted on February 1 and June 1 annually according to the average movement of the Composite Consumer Price Index and the Nominal Wage Index. The latest year-on-year rates of change of the Composite Consumer Price Index and the Nominal Wage Index are +2.1 per cent and +3.6 per cent respectively.
      
     The auto-LPG ceiling prices for respective dedicated LPG filling stations in June 2024 are as follows:

     The spokesman said that the details of the LPG international price and the auto-LPG ceiling price for each dedicated LPG filling station had been uploaded to the EMSD website (www.emsd.gov.hk) and posted at dedicated LPG filling stations to enable the trades to monitor the price adjustment.
      
     Details of the pricing adjustment mechanism for dedicated LPG filling stations can also be viewed under the "What's New" section of the department website at www.emsd.gov.hk/en/what_s_new/current/index.html.