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     â€‹Following is a question by the Hon Shiu Ka-fai and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (April 24):
      
Question:
 
     The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) announced last month the commencement of the Sai Yee Street/Flower Market Road Development Scheme (the Scheme) which involved the redevelopment of the Mong Kok Flower Market (the Flower Market). Some members of the community are of the view that while the Flower Market is a century-old district in Hong Kong with characteristics, past experience shows that some streets or districts with characteristics tend to lose their original characteristics after relocation or redevelopment by the authorities, and therefore they are worried that the same would happen to the Flower Market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      
(1) whether it knows the numbers of affected operators of ground floor and upper floor shops (including floral arrangement schools) within the scope of the Scheme and the area of their shops, with a tabulated breakdown by business category;
 
(2) whether it knows, in taking forward the Scheme, the specific measures put in place by the URA to assist the operators of ground floor and upper floor shops mentioned in (1) respectively, including ways to ensure that the desire of affected flower shop operators to relocate back to the Flower Market after redevelopment will not be undermined by factors such as high rentals in future;
 
(3) whether it knows the age distribution of buildings to be redeveloped under the Scheme, and how such age distribution compares with that of buildings in other old districts; of the reasons for the URA choosing to first proceed with a redevelopment project on the Flower Market;
 
(4) whether it knows if the URA has measures in place to minimise the inconvenience or impact caused to the operators of nearby ground floor and upper floor shops outside the scope of the Scheme when the construction works of the Scheme are in progress; if the URA has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(5) whether specific long term measures or plans are in place to help flower shops and relevant operators in the Flower Market sustain their operation and ensure that local characteristics and vibes of the Flower Market will be preserved; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Following the completion of the District Study for Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok (YMDS) in 2021, the Sai Yee Street/Flower Market Road Development Scheme (the Scheme) is the first urban renewal project launched by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) in the district according to the recommendations of the YMDS. The Scheme comprises six sites. Upon redevelopment, it will increase the supply of private residential and commercial floor space, as well as provide brand-new recreational, leisure and public facilities. The revitalisation of the Flower Market and the preservation of the local character of the district are also objectives of the Scheme. The URA hopes not only to preserve the existing characteristics of the Flower Market, but also enhance its characteristics and ambience, so as to inject diversified development and new vitality into the Flower Market, and provide more space for the flower shops to operate and create a better business environment. This will provide a more comfortable shopping environment for the people visiting the flower shops (please see part (5) of the reply for more details). According to the URA’s survey, there are currently some 120 ground-floor flower shops in the Flower Market, more than 20 of them will be affected by the redevelopment project. The URA will provide transitional and moving-back arrangement for affected flower shops.
      
     Having consulted the URA, my reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
      
(1) Based on the information obtained from the freezing survey conducted by the URA on the announcement date of the Scheme, the information of the affected ground-floor shop operators and upper-floor business operators within the Scheme boundary, categorised by their business nature (Note 1), is tabulated as follows:
 

Operators (total)	Business nature	Number
Ground-floor shop operators (35)	Flower shops or florist-related business	26
	Catering	7
	Hair-cutting	1
	Church (Note 2)	1
Upper-floor business operators (12)	Flower shops or florist-related business	2
	Guesthouse	2
	Charitable organisation	2
	Photo and video production house	2
	Creative art education and training	2
	Beauty and massage	1
	Religious education centre	1

      
     As always, the URA’s case officers will continue to visit the affected households and business operators to explain the acquisition policies, as well as the implementation arrangements, timetable and the latest progress of the Scheme. If the Scheme is eventually approved by the Chief Executive in Council, the URA will, based on the occupying conditions of the affected properties as recorded in the freezing survey and in accordance with the prevailing policy, make acquisition offers to owners of domestic/non-domestic properties, make compensation offers to tenants of domestic/non-domestic properties and arrange rehousing for eligible tenants of domestic properties of the Scheme.

(2) A multi-purpose complex is proposed to be constructed under the Scheme. The ground floor of the complex will provide on-street retail units facing the proposed Waterway Park. According to the current planning, it is proposed that these retail units should have a florist or horticultural theme. The URA will also consider giving priority to the florist operators affected by the redevelopment to move back to these retail units after completion of the Scheme, while arrangements to facilitate their transitional operation will also be examined. 
     
     The management model and rental level of the retail portion of the multi-purpose complex will be determined based on the market environment and operational direction, and there is currently no finalised plan. The URA will maintain ongoing communication with the operators of the affected shops within the Scheme area to understand their needs so as to provide appropriate assistance.

(3) The Scheme involves a total of 23 private buildings aged between 64 and 76 years, which are older than the average building age of buildings involved in the redevelopment projects undertaken by the URA in the past two years (2022 to 2023) (the average building age is about 60 years (Note 3)).
     
     As in the past, before deciding to proceed with the Scheme, the URA has already conducted a comprehensive examination and analysis a basket of factors, including land use, feasibility of planning, building age, financial capacity of the URA, and assessed the planning gains brought about by the Scheme under the “planning-led” and “district-based” strategy. In view of the fact that the area around Sai Yee Street and Flower Market Road has been developed for many years, the relevant planning support and facilities are no longer able to cope with the development needs of the area, including aged recreational facilities with segregated functionality and spaces, lack of leisure and resting spaces, as well as traffic congestion and competition between pedestrians and vehicles for road space in the vicinity of the Flower Market. The URA aims to leverage the Scheme to help resolve the district problems mentioned above as well as to improve hardware support and spatial planning, so as to facilitate the long-term sustainable development of the Flower Market and to encourage redevelopment of old districts nearby.
     
(4) The URA is aware that there may be impact on the environment of the Flower Market during the construction period. Under the current planning, the URA will carry out the construction works in phases, starting with the site without shops (i.e. the site at the Boundary Street). As for other five sites, the construction works are expected to be commenced at a later stage since acquisition and relocation matters will be involved. The URA will make use of this period of time to engage the operators of the shops concerned and formulate measures to mitigate the impact of the construction work. 
     
     During the construction period, the URA will also require the contractor(s) to conduct environmental monitoring, which mainly include dust, effluent and noise monitoring, so as to minimise the impact on the surrounding environment and the shops in the vicinity of the Scheme.

(5) The Scheme will promote the further development of the Flower Market on various fronts, including the provision of on-street retail units facing the proposed Waterway Park on the ground level of the proposed multi-purpose complex, so as to expand the area as well as to improve the supporting facilities and environment of the Flower Market. More opportunities will then be created for the flower shops and related operators to expand their businesses and enhance the vibrant marketplace atmosphere of the Flower Market. 

     At the same time, the URA will complement with the revitalisation project of the pre-war tenement clusters (i.e. the Prince Edward Road West/Yuen Ngai Street project) which has been completed years ago, and combine the four sites in the Prince Edward Road West under the Scheme to enhance the back lanes along Yuen Ngai Street and Yuen Po Street through landscaping and revitalisation works as well as place-making, with the aim to transform them into the Third Flower Market Pedestrian Walkway in addition to the Flower Market Road and the Prince Edward Road West. This proposal will help enhance the overall environment of the Flower Market, boosting street vibrancy and extend the distinctive ambience and characteristics of the Flower Market to the vicinity. 

     The URA also proposes to construct a Waterway Park with an area of not less than 8 800 square metres in the Scheme. By incorporating landscape design elements such as planting flowers, trees, and shrubs, as well as encouraging place-making, the Waterway Park will capitalise on its unique geographical location adjacent to the Flower Market and create a “flower viewing hotspot”. This will highlight the district characteristics of the Flower Market and revitalise the image of the area.

     In addition, the Scheme also proposes to construct an underground public carpark at the site located at the Boundary Street to provide additionally about 220 public parking spaces for private cars and 10 public loading/unloading bays for some of the flower operators in order to facilitate their cargo handling, and for the convenience of those who drive to Flower Market to buy flowers. This proposal will help alleviate the problems of illegal parking, road congestion and pedestrian-vehicle conflicts caused by insufficient metered parking spaces in the Flower Market area. By improving the overall traffic and pedestrian environment in the vicinity, it will enhance the business environment and improve the shopping experience of customers in the Flower Market, which will in turn help attract more customers to the flower shops and related businesses, and promote the area as a diversified shopping district for leisure and recreation.

Note 1: Since the acquisition and clearance works have not been commenced, the URA is not able to provide information regarding the business operating area of the units at this stage.
Note 2: Apart from the ground-floor premises, the church also occupies several units on the upper floors.
Note 3: Exclude five pre-war buildings. read more

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

     The Legislative Council Panel on Transport visited the “Station Rail Voyage” Exhibition of the MTR Corporation Limited at Hung Hom Station today (April 24) to learn more about the development process of Hong Kong’s railway service.

     Members first toured MTR’s collection of retired trains and train components, including the first-generation electric train “Yellow Head” of the East Rail Line, the Diesel Electric Locomotive “I.B. Trevor”, as well as the Mid-life Refurbishment 12-car-train that retired in 2022 to better understand different stages of the development of MTR trains.

     Meanwhile, Members received a briefing by MTR representatives on how to revitalise the retired trains, enabling these trains to continue serving the public in different ways. They also gained insight into the contributions made by railway staff across different eras by observing a collection of their treasured items.

     During the visit, Members exchanged views with MTR representatives on the continuous enhancement of the quality of railway service and strengthening of railway safety.

     Members who participated in the visit include Panel members Mr Chau Siu-chung, Mr Chan Siu-hung and Mr Yim Kong; as well as non-Panel members Mr Andrew Lam, Mr Yiu Pak-leung, Mr Dennis Leung and Dr Ngan Man-yu.

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     Police today (April 24) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Western District.      Cheng Dun-sung, aged 82, went missing after he was last seen in his residence on Yat Fu Lane last night (April 23). His fam… read more

     The Government announced today (April 24) the ceiling price adjustment mechanism for charging electric taxis (e-taxis) and electric public light buses (e-PLBs) at designated quick charging stations (QCSs) and the extension of the te… read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Leung and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (April 24):

Question:

     Regarding the preparatory work for coping with inclement weather, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the number of flooding reports received by the Drainage Services Department (DSD) in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory; among the flooding locations involved in such reports, of the number of locations where flooding has recurred; whether the relevant government departments had subsequently investigated the causes of flooding in such locations and taken improvement measures; if so, of the progress of the relevant work;

(2) of the number of landslides triggered by rainstorms in each of the past three years; the number of footpaths and roads blocked and damaged as a result of landslides, and the average time taken for the relevant repair works; the works carried out by the authorities for landslide prevention and mitigation since the once-in-a-century torrential rain in September last year, and the progress of such works;

(3) as information from DSD shows that there are currently only four flooding blackspots in Hong Kong, but the locations where severe flooding occurred during typhoons and rainstorms in recent years were not flooding blackspots, whether the authorities will consider reviewing the data on flooding blackspots or formulating a separate mechanism, so as to enable members of the public to gain a clear understanding of the locations in the districts where they live that are prone to severe flooding, and enable the relevant government departments to accord priority to taking precautionary measures and conducting work such as clearing the blocked drains in the locations concerned;

(4) given that during typhoons and rainstorms in the past, shop operators and vehicle owners suffered losses due to the occurrence of flooding in a number of shopping malls and underground car parks, whether the authorities have systematically issued guidelines or recommendations on flood prevention to property management (PM) companies and PM staff; in respect of basements of shopping malls or underground floors of car parks which are prone to flooding, whether the authorities have special measures in place to assist the relevant owners’ corporations and PM companies in taking proper flood prevention measures;

(5) as the Chief Executive has indicated in the 2023 Policy Address that the $8 billion drainage improvement works projects will be taken forward expeditiously, of the progress of the relevant works to date and the expected date of completion; as the Director of Drainage Services has indicated earlier on that a number of minor drainage improvement works have been implemented in various districts since the once-in-a-century torrential rain in September last year, of the number, geographical distribution and progress of such works to date, and whether such works can be completed before the onset of the rainy season this year; and

(6) whether it will conduct drills (including cross-government department drills) before the onset of the rainy season this year, so as to make good preparation for the overall contingency operations and disaster relief arrangements during rainstorms; if so, of the details; whether it will study ways to give advance warnings more effectively, so as to enable members of the public to make early preparation?

Reply:

President,

     Hong Kong was repeatedly affected by extreme weather in September last year. In the evening of September 7, the Hong Kong Observatory recorded an hourly rainfall of 158.1 millimetres, the highest on record since 1884. In September and October last year, the cumulative rainfall recorded by the Hong Kong Observatory reached 1 600mm, accounting for about 60 per cent of the average annual rainfall. Despite facing the record-breaking heavy rain, the overall drainage capacity of stormwater drainage system in Hong Kong continued to function well, allowing society to return to its normal operations in the shortest time.

     Adapting to the Hong Kong’s topographic conditions, the Drainage Services Department (DSD) has been adopting a multi-pronged approach, including “stormwater interception”, “flood storage” and “drainage improvement” to enhance the flood control capabilities of different areas in Hong Kong. Over the years, a vast number of drainage improvement works have been completed in various districts, which reduced the risk of flooding in the concerned areas. Currently, the DSD is carrying out 11 drainage improvement works. Besides, whenever a rainstorm or typhoon is forecasted, the DSD will plan in advance and early deploy inspection teams to the locations with higher risk of flooding to inspect and clear the blocked stormwater drainage system as needed. Moreover, whenever a Red or Black Rainstorm Warning Signal or a Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above is issued, the DSD will immediately activate its Emergency Control Centre to handle flooding cases and clear the blocked drainage channels and rivers. After the rainstorm, the DSD will also proactively inspect all major drainage channels and rivers, remove debris such as soil, rock, leaves and litters, and carry out necessary emergency repair works to prepare for the next rainstorm.

     A consolidated reply to each part of the question is provided as follows:

(1) Between 2021 and 2023, the DSD confirmed a total of 257 reported flooding cases. Please refer to the Appendix I for the number of reported flooding cases in each district, among which 22 locations had more than one reported flooding case. The DSD reviewed the cause of each reported flooding case and found that the major causes of flooding were blockage at drainage inlets due to leaves, sediment or debris. The DSD have stepped up their clearance works to the drainage channels, and carried out pre-wet season inspection and the necessary drainage improvement measures.
 
(2) The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) received 146, 76 and 601 reports of landslide incidents in 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively; among them, the number of reported landslide incidents affecting footpaths or roads were 95, 37 and 340 respectively. Most emergency repair works were completed within days except for relatively major landslide incidents (such as the Yiu Hing Road landslide caused by the torrential rain in September 2023).

     In order to cope with the landslide risk caused by rainstorms, relevant government departments and private owners have to regularly inspect and repair their slopes to ensure that they are properly maintained. In addition, the CEDD continues the Landslip Prevention and Mitigation Programme (LPMitP) for strengthening slopes against inclement weather according to a risk-based approach. The CEDD is conducting systematic investigations and studies on major landslide incidents triggered by rainstorms in recent years, including reviewing the criteria of the LPMitP for risk-based priority ranking for landslip prevention and mitigation works, according priority to those natural hillsides and man-made slopes that have the potential to have a greater impact on the daily life of the public, such as those adjacent to sole vehicular accesses, and carrying out mitigation works for more natural hillsides.

(3) Flooding blackspots are identified by the DSD taking into account the design drainage capacity of the stormwater drainage system, past flooding records, flooding complaints and flood protection standards at the relevant locations. 

     Based on past observations, many flooding cases were due to blockage at drainage inlets by leaves, sediment or debris being washed by the surface runoff and flooding causes were not related to the design capacity of drainage system. The DSD has identified some 220 locations in the territory that are prone to flooding due to blockages from debris or leaves. Whenever a rainstorm is forecasted, the DSD will arrange and deploy resources to step up their inspections. If a drain is found clogged, clearance works will be carried out immediately in order to reduce the flood risk.

(4) The DSD promulgated a practice note on flood resilience and emergency response measures and has uploaded it to its website for public reference. The practice note includes suitable flood resilience measures for commercial basement area or underground carpark, such as installing demountable flood barriers and elevating entrance and exit platforms. For emergency response measures, the practice note promotes the preparation of contingency plans and conducting drills. Before the rainy season, the DSD arranges to have meetings with relevant stakeholders, including government departments, public organisations, public utilities companies and property management organisations in order to enhance their understanding of flood resilience and emergency response measures. The DSD also liaises with residential estate management companies to provide technical advice on preventing flooding in the housing estates’ underground carparks and basement areas, etc.

(5) The DSD plans to seek funding of approximately HK$8 billion (at September 2023 price level) for seven drainage improvement works projects in various districts (namely Mong Kok, Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Kowloon City, Hong Kong Island East, Tai Po, Sha Tin and Sai Kung) in 2024-25. The DSD has expedited the works and conducted parallel tendering to shorten the procurement time, with an aim to commencing the improvement works projects as early as possible after obtaining funding approval. It is targeted to complete the seven drainage improvement works projects in phases within approximately 3.5 to six years.

     Since September last year, in order to reduce the flood risk over the territory, the DSD has been implementing a series of follow-up measures, including around 120 minor improvement works such as improving the existing drainage inlets and constructing additional roadside gullies and drainage channels. Most of these improvement works were substantially completed.

(6) In order to cope with the extreme weather in the future, the Security Bureau will regularly hold inter-departmental drills before the typhoon season to strengthen the preparation, co-operation and co-ordination of various policy bureaux, departments and other relevant agencies to ensure that various departments and agencies would take prompt and effective contingency measures to deal with the impact of extreme weather, allowing the society to return to normal as soon as possible. This year’s inter-departmental drill, which will be held in May, will simulates a super typhoon hitting Hong Kong, causing extensive property damage and severe obstruction of trunk roads. Each participant is required to explain the contingency actions to deal with different scenarios so that all participants can better understand each other’s roles and responsibilities when dealing with super typhoons, helping various departments make adequate preparation and enhance their co-ordination capabilities.

     In respect of advance warning, the Government will continue to introduce advanced meteorological observation instruments and explore the use of technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence. It will also strengthen scientific research co-operation on meteorological data exchange, information communication and forecast technology with the meteorological departments in different areas to improve the monitoring of extreme weather and strengthen early warning and forecasting work, including weather forecast and warning, flooding, landslides. The Government will continue to strengthen its capabilities in all aspects to cope with the challenges posed by extreme weather for protecting the lives and property of Hong Kong citizens. read more