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1. HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will meet statutory requirements

2. Cross-border solution to demolition

3. Pledge to respect rules on air quality for bridge

1. HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will meet statutory requirements
Hong Kong Government,

The claim as reported in a local newspaper that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Hong Kong Section of the Hong Kong– Zhuhai– Macao Bridge had shown that the project could not meet the air quality requirement and that exemption from the EIA Ordinance requirements would have to be sought from the Executive Council was wild speculation, a spokesman for the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau said today (May 9).

"The Hong Kong section of the HK-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is a designated project under the EIA Ordinance.  Before works can commence, its EIA report will have to be approved by the Director of Environmental Protection and the project proponent will have to obtain an Environmental Permit from him.

"While a preferred landing point at San Shek Wan has been identified, the alignment of the road connecting the Bridge from its landing point to the local highway network is still being examined and no decision has been made," he said.

The various assessments, including the air quality assessment, in the EIA for the Bridge and the connecting road infrastructure could only be completed after such major decisions have been made.

"We are carrying out the planning for the Bridge and its connecting road infrastructure, and will implement the project like any other designed projects under the EIA Ordinance.

2. Cross-border solution to demolition
Sylvia Hui, The Standard 10 May 2005

Millions of tons of recyclable inert construction and demolition waste piled up in the territory's landfills, should be put to use in the mainland for reclamation and road works, some building trade experts said.

"This is creating a big problem for the construction industry,'' said Thomas Tang, environmental consultant and senior advisor to the Business Environment Council. "The waste is accumulating and will become unusable.''

Construction and demolition waste, which accounted for 38 per cent of the total waste dumped in landfills in 2003, can be separated into inert (reusable) and non-inert waste, Tang said.

Inert waste refers to soil and rock, of which a large quantity is not reused because of the dwindling number of reclamation projects in the territory.

The general practice is for contractors to separate the inert material from steel, taps, pipes and doors, which can be exported without difficulty, when a building is taken down. The inert material is reusable but an increasing amount is collecting at open landfills.

The SAR produced 20.5 million tons of construction and demolition waste last year.

While most of this - 18.1 million tons - was inert and dumped at public landfills for reuse, five million tons are still unused, Tang said.

Last year's unused waste adds to one million tons of leftover inert waste in 2002 and eight million tons in 2003. All of it was dumped at the Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O landfills.

``If we export this to the mainland it's not waste anymore but a resource,'' Tang said.

``We're not saying we will dump hazardous, problematic waste over the border,'' Business Environment Council chief executive Andrew Thomson said. He said the waste would provide much-needed material for cement and road construction in a resource-hungry market.

``It's technically feasible to use the waste to build roads,'' Thomson said, adding the waste could be exported raw or reprocessed.

The construction sector has responded favorably to proposals to export construction and demolition waste, because it would mean saving waste disposal charges of HK$125 per ton, set to be introduced this year.

But the biggest hurdle for executing the plan are international conventions regulating the export of waste, Tang said.

Last year, Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao signed an agreement providing for better communication between Hong Kong and Guangzhou on the management of cross-border dumping of dredged materials generated in the SAR, as well as the accommodation of inert construction and demolition material in mainland waters.

But technical details have not been finalized, an Environmental Protection Department spokeswoman said.

``We will have to be very careful when taking [such proposals] forward and we will have to liaise closely with China,'' the department's deputy director, Esmond Lee, said.

3. Pledge to respect rules on air quality for bridge
CHEUNG CHI-FAI , SCMP 10 May 2005

The government will not seek the chief executive's approval for waiving air-quality requirements when building the proposed bridge from Hong Kong to Macau and Zhuhai, officials stressed yesterday.

In response to concerns that the bridge project would worsen Tung Chung's air pollution problem, the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau said it would mitigate any impact and not seek an "exceptional way" to avoid restrictions.

It is understood that highway officials are considering the cost implications and environmental benefits of at least four road networks connecting to the bridge after it lands in San Shek Wan, north Lantau.

Two of the more expensive options are building tunnels under the sea or cutting across the hills to bypass Tung Chung before the road chosen connects with the North Lantau Expressway.

But Tung Chung might suffer more disturbances from two cheaper options that divert traffic from the bridge to the fringe of the new town or a viaduct over the sea off the town.

It was reported yesterday that nitrogen oxide levels at Tung Chung might reach up to 400 micrograms per cubic metre on an hourly basis under the worst traffic scenario when the bridge is completed.

The level is one third over the acceptable level of 300 micrograms under existing air quality objectives. Nitrogen oxide is a gas pollutant that can react with volatile organic compounds to form ozone.

In September last year, Tung Chung new town was hit by the worst ozone pollution that pushed the air pollution index to a record high of 201.

Under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance, the government can seek the chief executive's approval to exempt a works project from air quality requirements on the grounds of public interest.

Esmond Lee Chung-sin, deputy director of environmental protection, said the project's environmental impact assessment was continuing.

An Environment, Transport and Works Bureau spokesman said: "We'll fully comply with the requirements of the ordinance and other relevant statutory requirements. Seeking an exemption from the Executive Council under the EIA Ordinance is not a consideration. While a preferred landing point at San Shek Wan has been identified, the alignment of the road connecting the bridge from its landing point to the local highway network is still being examined and no decision has been made."