The Department of Health (DH) today (December 13) announced that the Shek Wu Hui Elderly Health Centre (SWH EHC) will be relocated to the eighth floor of the North District Community Health Centre Building, 3 Wai Wo Street, Sheung Shui, with effect from December 16 (next Monday) to continue to provide services for the elderly. The reprovisioned centre will be named the North District Elderly Health Centre. Service hours are from 8.30am to 1pm and 2pm to 5.30pm on Mondays to Fridays (except Saturday, Sunday and general public holidays).

     The reprovisioned elderly health centre will provide a more spacious and comfortable environment that is convenient for wheelchair users and will help enhance the overall service standard. Clients who have made appointments at the SWH EHC will receive phone or SMS reminders reminding them to receive services at the new location. 

     There are currently 18 Elderly Health Centres in Hong Kong providing primary healthcare services to the elderly aged 65 and above on a membership basis. Services including health risk assessment, health education, counselling and curative treatment are provided from a family medicine perspective using a multidisciplinary team approach.

     For more information on the DH's Elderly Health Service, please visit its website.

     The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) today (December 13) gazetted a notice to invite tenders for the contract for Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area Second Phase Development – Contract 6 – Site Formation and Engineering Infrastructure Works (Contract No. YL/2023/06). The closing time for the tender is noon on February 21, 2025.

     The works mainly include: 
1. site clearance and formation (including land decontamination works) for about 62 hectares of lands, together with provision of associated engineering infrastructure;
2. construction of district distributor and local roads connecting Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area to Ping Ha Road and Ha Tsuen Road;
3. construction of a sewage pumping station;
4. construction of associated works including water mains, drainage and sewerage works, cycle tracks, footpaths, box culverts, slope works, retaining structures, street furniture, landscaping works, electrical and mechanical works and other ancillary works; and 
5. implementation of environmental mitigation measures (including noise barriers) and environmental monitoring works for the works mentioned above.

     The works are scheduled to commence in mid-2025 and will take about 55 months to complete.

     The CEDD has commissioned Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited to design and supervise the works. Interested contractors can download the tender forms and other particulars from the e-Tendering System (e-TS). Tenderers must submit tenders in electronic format via the e-TS.

     Details of the tender notice are available on the CEDD website (www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/tender-notices/contracts/tender-notices/index.html). For enquiries, please call Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited at 3447 6109 during office hours.

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold the second public hearing on "Nano and Advanced Materials Institute" (Chapter 1) of the Director of Audit's Report No. 83 tomorrow (December 14) at 9am in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex.
 
     Six witnesses have been invited to appear before the above hearing to respond to points raised in the Report and answer questions asked by the PAC members.
 
     The programme for the public hearing is as follows:
 
Subject: Nano and Advanced Materials Institute
(Chapter 1 of the Director of Audit's Report No.83)
Date: December 14 (Saturday)
Time: 9am
Venue: Conference Room 1

Witnesses:
Professor Sun Dong
Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry

Mr Ivan Lee
Commissioner for Innovation and Technology

Mrs Elina Chan
Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Technology (Research and Development Centres)

Professor Cheng Shuk-han
Chairwoman, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute

Mr Andy Fung
Chief Executive Officer, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute

Ms Jenny Yiu
Chief Operating Officer, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute

     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.

     Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 2024, Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2024, Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Amendment) Regulation 2024 and Road Traffic (Expressway) (Amendment) Regulation 2024 were gazetted today (December 13).

     The above amendment regulations aim to tie in with international vehicle standards, technological development, and Hong Kong's road conditions to enhance road safety and facilitate the application of new vehicle technologies in Hong Kong. The amendment regulations will be tabled at the Legislative Council (LegCo) on December 18 for negative vetting. 

     A spokesperson for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "We aim to create a safer and more convenient road environment for road users in Hong Kong through optimising vehicle design and construction standards with the amendment regulations. The eight proposals are: (1) requiring electric vehicles to be equipped with an acoustic vehicle alerting system; (2) requiring vehicles with extendable aerial structures to be equipped with an over-height warning system; (3) mandating the use of child restraining device in private cars for child passengers; (4) enabling the use of remote control parking function by drivers; (5) relaxing the restrictions on information that can be displayed on a visual display unit when the vehicle is parked; (6) allowing camera-monitor systems as an alternative to conventional reflecting mirrors and setting out specifications and standards on reflecting mirrors and camera-monitor systems; (7) allowing electric commercial vehicles to travel on expressways without the need to apply for an expressway permit; and (8) updating the requirements on lighting lamps, reflectors and the maximum overall height of single-decked bus."

     The spokesperson continued, "The Government will continue to review technological advancements and vehicle operational requirements and update the regulations in a timely manner to keep pace with the evolving vehicle technologies and the latest international standards, flexibly adapting to industry development."

     When formulating the amendment regulations, views collected from consultations with various stakeholders were taken into consideration, including the LegCo Panel on Transport, the Transport Advisory Committee and industry representatives. The regulatory details and effective dates are specified in respective amendment regulations, and relevant information is set out in the LegCo Brief issued by the Government on December 11.

     â€‹Hongkong Post announced today (December 13) that, as advised by the postal administration of Thailand, mail delivery services to Thailand previously impacted by heavy rain have returned to normal.