Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Special traffic and transport arrangements for Tam Kung Festival on Hong Kong Island Road closures
Road closures and traffic diversions will be implemented on roads in the vicinity of Shau Kei Wan Road, Shau Kei Wan Main Street East and Tam Kung Temple Road from 6.30am to 6.30pm that day. Intermittent road closures will be implemented on roads in the vicinity of Tai Hang in Wan Chai District from 10.30am that day until crowds disperse and roads are reopened. Vehicular access to and from car parks within the affected areas may not be allowed during the period of road closures.
Public transport service arrangements (ii) The public light bus stand, public light bus parking space and motorcycle parking spaces at Kam Wah Street between Shau Kei Wan Main Street East and Mong Lung Street will be temporarily suspended from 8am on May 4 to 6.30pm the next day;
(iii) All on-street parking spaces within closed road sections in Shau Kei Wan (including metered parking, motorcycle parking and disabled parking spaces) will be temporarily suspended from 10pm on May 4 to 6.30pm the next day; and The TD and the Police will closely monitor the traffic situation and implement appropriate measures when necessary. The public should pay attention to the latest traffic news through radio, television or “HKeMobility”. Issued at HKT 12:20
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ15: Bringing dogs onto food premises (1) There are restaurants that advertise themselves as pet-friendly in recent years, but there is no specific or consistent definition of this type of restaurants. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) does not have statistics on the number of all self-claimed pet-friendly restaurants.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ22: Treatment of waste lead-acid batteries Question:
Under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (the Convention), member countries (Parties) are expected to treat and dispose of wastes as close as possible to their place of generation and to prevent and minimise the generation of wastes at source, and waste lead-acid batteries are hazardous waste regulated under the Convention. China is a Party to the Convention, the Convention is therefore applicable to Hong Kong as well. It has been reported that at present, most of the waste lead-acid batteries in Hong Kong were exported to other places (including Korea) after treatment, and those recycled locally only accounted for a small portion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the quantity of waste lead-acid batteries generated in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, as well as the respective quantities of waste lead-acid batteries preliminarily processed locally, exported to overseas advanced facilities for recycling (with a breakdown by export areas) and recycled locally;
(2) of the respective maximum annual treatment capacities of the facilities for (i) preliminary treatment and (ii) recycling of waste lead-acid batteries in Hong Kong;
(3) of the details of projects relating to waste lead-acid batteries subsidised by the Recycling Fund in the past three years (including but not limited to the amount of subsidy granted for each project and the content of the subsidy);
(4) of the current progress of the implementation of the Producer Responsibility Scheme on waste lead-acid batteries, as well as the recovery target for local waste lead-acid batteries after the implementation of the Scheme; and
(5) whether the authorities have formulated a contingency plan to cope with the situation where the collection of treated waste lead-acid batteries exported from Hong Kong will be suspended in the event of policy adjustments by Korea or other places; if so, of the specific proposals; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Handling of waste lead-acid batteries is strictly regulated under the Waste Disposal Ordinance, and the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation including registration as chemical waste producers, applications for chemical waste collection and disposal licences, reporting the quantities of waste lead-acid batteries produced, collected and disposed of, and regulating the transboundary movements of waste lead-acid batteries according to the Basel Convention (the Convention).
Any person intending to export waste lead-acid batteries for recycling should apply to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) for an export permit. Prior to issuing the permit, the EPD will obtain written consent from the relevant authority of the concerned state of import to ensure that the waste lead-acid batteries will be transported to an approved recycling facility in the destination location for recycling in an environmentally sound manner.
The Convention encourages the Parties of the Convention to dispose of controlled waste within the country of origin as far as possible, but it does not prohibit the import or export of such waste under certain conditions, including that the state of import needs the waste as a raw material for recycling or recovery use. Currently, the waste lead-acid batteries exported from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region comply with the above principles. Under the permit control system, approval from the competent authority of the concerned state of import must be obtained prior to the export of waste lead-acid batteries, which must be recycled in facilities equipped with processing capacity in waste lead-acid batteries.
The EPD will continue to combat illegal collection and disposal of waste lead-acid batteries, and promote proper disposal of waste lead-acid batteries and the relevant legal requirements to the trade.
The reply to the question raised by the Hon Judy Chan is as follows:
(1) and (2) Currently, there are approximately 700 000 fuel-powered or gas-powered vehicles in Hong Kong, amounting to an estimation of around 3 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries generated annually. In addition to other applications including uninterruptible power supply systems (e.g. data centres and emergency lighting), non-road mobile machineries (e.g. forklifts), vessels, and emergency generators in industrial and commercial buildings, an additional 3 500 to 4 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries are generated each year. Thus, it is estimated that a total of 6 500 to 7 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries are generated in Hong Kong annually. In recent years, the number of electric vehicles in Hong Kong has been steadily increasing. There were 110 014 electric vehicles in Hong Kong in 2024, representing about 12.2 per cent of the total number of vehicles. As newly launched electric vehicles no longer use lead-acid batteries, it is expected that the quantity of waste lead-acid batteries generated will gradually decline in the future.
Currently, there are eight licensed disposal facilities for disposal of waste lead-acid batteries, seven of which conduct preliminary treatment such as sorting, insulation, and packaging before exporting the waste lead-acid batteries to overseas facilities for recycling. According to the capacity stipulated in their licences, these seven facilities can collectively process up to approximately 42 000 tonnes of waste lead-acid batteries annually. Another licensed facility located at the EcoPark in Tuen Mun processes waste lead-acid batteries into lead bullion by dismantling waste lead-acid batteries into lead grid and lead paste by means of high temperature smelting. The maximum annual disposal capacity (for lead bullion production) stipulated in its licence is about 8 000 tonnes.
In the past three years, the quantities of waste lead-acid batteries treated locally and exported overseas are listed as follows:
Year (3) Over the past three years (i.e. 2022 to 2024), the Recycling Fund approved a total subsidy of about $1.03 million for seven waste lead-acid batteries recyclers. The approved funding was to subsidise the purchase of equipment, such as packaging machine, scissor lift and electric pallet truck for enhancing their productivity, and provide a one-off subsidy to frontline recycling staff to help the recycling industry to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic.
(4) The Government has introduced the Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal of Products (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2025 (Amendment Bill) to the Legislative Council on April 2 this year to establish a common legislative framework for the producer responsibility schemes (PRSs) applicable to different products. After the passage of the Amendment Bill, we will extend PRSs to more products (including lead-acid batteries) as and when appropriate by means of subsidiary legislation.
The EPD has conducted consultations on the proposed PRS on lead-acid batteries from June 2023 to April 2025. We hitherto have met with more than 40 companies or organisations including trade associations of automotive batteries and tyres industry, traders of automotive parts, suppliers of uninterrupted power supplies, medical devices and forklifts, as well as engineering contractors and recyclers, with a view to considering the trade’s opinions when drawing up the implementation details. We will maintain a close communication with the trades and take into account their views for the sake of fine-tuning the operational details of the scheme as appropriate, including setting appropriate recycling targets in light of the prevailing circumstances.
(5) After proper treatment of waste lead-acid batteries, valuable lead materials can be recovered, which have considerable value in the international recycling market. Therefore, there is a market for purchasing waste lead-acid batteries for recycling. Apart from Korea, many countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, Mexico, Greece, and Canada, possess the capability to process waste lead-acid batteries and import them from other places for recycling purposes. The local recycling facility located at the EcoPark is also capable of treating locally generated waste lead-acid batteries. Therefore, even if certain places adjust their policies and cease importing treated waste lead-acid batteries, the market is still capable of handling them. Issued at HKT 12:15
Prime Minister condoles the loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh PM announces ex-gratia from PMNRF
Posted On: 30 APR 2025 9:36AM by PIB Delhi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today condoled the loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the injured.
The PMO India handle in post on X said:
“Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi”
Deeply saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of a wall in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The…
Prime Minister condoles the loss of lives in a fire mishap in Kolkata PM announces ex-gratia from PMNRF
Posted On: 30 APR 2025 9:34AM by PIB Delhi
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today condoled the loss of lives in a fire mishap in Kolkata. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the injured.
The PMO India handle in post on X said:
“Anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire mishap in Kolkata. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM @narendramodi”
Anguished by the loss of lives due to a fire mishap in Kolkata. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM…
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The nomination for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s Young Astronaut Training Camp 2025 will open for local secondary schools starting from tomorrow (May 1) until May 31. Selected participants will experience astronaut training on the Mainland free of charge this summer to learn about space science, astronomy and China’s aerospace achievements.
The training camp will run from July 25 to August 2. During the nine-day training camp, participants will visit Beijing, Jiuquan and Xi’an. The itinerary includes visiting various key astronomy and aerospace facilities such as Beijing Aerospace City, the Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatories and the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. In addition, participants will experience astronaut training activities and have a chance to meet with astronauts and aerospace experts.
The quota for the training camp is 30. Candidates must be local full-time students currently enrolled in Secondary Two to Secondary Six for the 2024/25 academic year, aged 12 or above and be nominated by their respective schools. Each school can nominate two students at most. There will be three rounds of selection – a quiz, a pre-camp training and an interview. Candidates with outstanding performance will be selected to join the camp. A briefing on the Camp will be conducted on May 6, at 5pm in the Lecture Hall of the Hong Kong Space Museum. Please visit the Hong Kong Space Museum website at hk.space.museum/en/web/spm/activities/yatc.html for more details.
The training camp is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in association with the Beijing-Hong Kong Academic Exchange Centre. The training camp is organised by the Hong Kong Space Museum and sponsored by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.
The camp is also one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.ccpo.gov.hk/en/.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ1: Costs of developing and operating public housing Question:
The 2025-2026 Budget mentioned that the total public housing supply would reach 190 000 units in the next five years. Regarding the costs of developing and operating public housing, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Government has been granting land for the development of public housing at nominal premium, premium below the market value or nil premium, of the respective amounts of land premium waived for public housing projects of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) as well as the number of units involved in each of the past five and the coming three financial years, and set out in the table below a breakdown by projects (i.e. (i) public rental housing (PRH)/Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) and (ii) other subsidised sale flats under HA, as well as (iii) rental estates and (iv) subsidised sale housing projects under HKHS):
Financial year(2) of the respective average construction costs (including (i) per square foot of the construction floor area and (ii) per flat) of PRH/rental housing units and subsidised sale flats constructed by HA and HKHS in each of the past five and the coming three financial years, with a breakdown by type of projects;
(3) of the respective expenditures spent by HA and HKHS on site formation and infrastructural works for public housing in each of the past five and the coming three financial years, and the respective numbers of flats involved, as well as the respective ratios of expenditures on PRH/rental estates and subsidised sale flats;
(4) given that according to the paper on the budgets and financial forecasts issued by HA in January this year (the paper), the largest expenditure item under the rental housing operating account is the item “other recurrent expenditure”, of the expenditure/estimates incurred by each of the sub-items of this item in each of the past five and the coming three financial years;
(5) of the actual expenditure involving government rent and rates in HA’s rental housing operating account in each of the past five financial years, and the amount of rates concession provided by the Government in each of these years; and
(6) given that according to the paper, HA’s construction expenditure included items such as “Government non-reimbursement projects”, “Government-funded projects” and “in-house supervision and administration costs”, of the specific work covered by these items?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Lands Department, the reply to the question raised by Dr the Hon Wendy Hong is as follows:
(1) In the past five and coming three financial years, the number of units involved in the public housing projects of the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) and the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), and the respective amounts of land premium waived, are set out by year at Annex.
(2) As a financially autonomous public body, the HA funds its public housing programmes with its own resources. Each year, the Housing Department (HD) prepares the average construction costs per flat of Public Rental Housing (PRH)/Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH) and other Subsidised Sale Flats (SSF) projects based on the cost of building tenders approved by the HA in the preceding financial year. The construction costs will be released by the HA Finance Committee after being considered in its meeting.
As the number of building tenders approved by the HA in each financial year and factors such as scale and design of projects, market conditions, etc. are different, the average construction cost per flat varies year to year. From 2020-21 to 2023-24 financial years (Note 1), the average construction costs per flat of PRH/GSH projects and other SSF projects based on the cost of building tenders approved by the HA are set out below:
Financial YearEach year, the HD also reports the average construction costs for superstructure (Note 2) of the preceding financial year to the HA. From 2020/21 to 2023/24 financial years (Note 3), the average construction costs per square foot of construction floor area (ft2-CFA) for superstructure are set out below:
Financial Yearfor superstructure ($) (approx.) According to existing mechanism, the HD closely monitors changes in market conditions. In compiling and managing the cost budget of new projects, the HD will take various factors into consideration, including tender price trend, anticipated rate of price increase, development programmes, etc. to ensure smooth implementation of public housing schemes.
To further enhance cost-effectiveness of public housing construction, the HD will continue to explore and implement enhancement measures on construction cost control.
The study direction includes the development of a framework for optimising construction cost control, covering areas such as planning, design, application of advanced technologies and innovative construction methods, procurement models, and approval processes. The framework enables a thorough review and optimisation of various processes to effectively manage the construction costs. It also acts in concert with the inter-departmental “Action Group for Expediting Construction for Public Housing” led by the Secretary for Housing, which identifies, streamlines, and resolves inter-departmental issues encountered during public housing developments through strengthening inter-departmental co-operation so as to expedite the progress and further enhance cost-effectiveness of public housing projects.
According to the information provided by the HKHS, from 2020/21 to 2023/24 financial years (Note 4), the average construction cost per rental flat remained at around $1.1 million based on the project contract sum awarded by the HKHS. As for the HKHS’s SSF, each of which is equipped with a green balcony and utility platform, interior finishes such as tiled flooring, partition walls and doors for each room, as well as household appliances such as air conditioners, water heater, cooking hobs, etc., the average construction cost per flat was around $1.6 million.
Due to the differences in design and provisions of the HKHS’s and the HA’s projects, generally speaking, the average construction cost per flat of the HKHS would be about 15 to 30 per cent higher than that of the HA.
The HKHS is actively enhancing its cost efficiency as well as promoting construction digitalisation by applying Digital Works Supervision System and Smart Site Safety System, with a view to enhancing quality control and project management efficiency.
(3) The Government’s expenses under the Capital Works Reserve Fund (CWRF) Head 711 are for the implementation of public housing-related site formation and infrastructure projects undertaken by the Government, while the HA is responsible for the expenditure on the construction of public housing. Besides, quite a number of projects associated with the supply target of public housing are funded by other heads of expenditure under the CWRF.
As for Head 711 under the CWRF, the yearly expenditures of works projects in the past five and current fiscal year (Note 5), including infrastructure works with funding approved or pending funding approval by the Finance Committee to support the implementation of public housing developments undertaken by the HA, are tabulated below:
Financial Year($ million) As for Head 711 under the CWRF, the expenditures for the past five financial years involve about 98 000 flats for completion in 2024/25 or before, comprising about 83 000 PRH/GSH flats and about 15 000 other SSF flats. The expenditure ratio of the two is about 74 per cent and 26 per cent.
Besides, for Head 711 under the CWRF, some 64 000 flats are estimated to be completed in the coming five-year period (Note 7) (i.e. 2025/26 to 2029/30), comprising about 44 000 PRH/GSH flats and about 21 000 other SSF flats. The expenditure ratio of the two is about 56 per cent and 44 per cent. During project development, the HA will maintain flexibility in housing types and make timely adjustments of the respective supply in order to respond more appropriately to the needs of the community.
As regards the HKHS’s rental and SSF projects, most of the sites handed over to the HKHS by the Government have had the site formation and infrastructure works completed. From 2020/21 to 2025/26 financial years, the HKHS’s total expenditure on site formation works (such as slope maintenance and stabilisation) and infrastructure works (such as temporary roads, road widening, etc.) was approximately over $300 million, concerning six projects.
(4) “Other recurrent expenditures” of the Rental Housing Operating Account are mainly expenses related to estate management, including security, cleansing, electricity charges, estate property management and management fees for estate common areas. The related expenditure for the past five financial years and the next three financial years are as follows:
Financial Year($ million)(5) The actual annual expenditure on government rent and rates of Rental Housing Operating Account in the past five financial years, as well as the rates concessions provided by the Government each year, are as follows:
Financial Year($ million)($ million)# The rates of public rental housing as assessed by Rating and Valuation Department are on a block/floor basis, the HA will pass on the rates concession to tenants according to the respective unit’s share of internal floor area against the total rates of the whole domestic block. As the amount of rates concession is deducted from the rates payable of individual properties, the HA has not calculated the actual total amount of rates concession.
(6) Government non-reimbursable projects mainly include public transport interchanges (PTI) within development projects. Except individual projects which have been committed, the HA is no longer responsible for committing the expenditure related to PTIs after 2007.
The HA provides supervision services and construction of Government-funded projects in new development projects including welfare and community facilities such as schools, residential care homes for elderly, day care centres for the elderly, child care centres, etc.
In-house supervision and administration costs are mainly expenses of the relevant divisions of the HA responsible for supervision of construction projects, including personal emoluments, administrative costs, etc.
Note 1: The figure for 2024/25 financial year is not yet available. Note 2: The construction cost for superstructure excludes costs of demolition, site formation, foundation, underground drainage, external works, other separate contracts for works such as utilities connection/road diversion, etc. These costs vary a lot from project to project subject to site constraints. Note 3: The figure for 2024/25 financial year is not yet available. Note 4: The figure for 2024/25 financial year is not yet available. Note 5: As the estimate beyond 2025/26 financial year will be subject to the project implementation schedule and works progress, the estimated expenditures of 2026/27 and 2027/28 will be published in the related budgets of the Government in future. Note 6: 2020/21 to 2023/24 are actual expenditures; 2024/25 expenditures refer to the Revised Estimate; and 2025/26 expenditures refer to the Estimate. Note 7: Based on the forecast as at December 2024. Note 8: The figures from 2020/21 to 2023/24 are actual expenditures. The figure of 2024/25 is the Revised Budget and 2025/26 is the Approved Budget. Issued at HKT 17:15
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
​The Social Welfare Department (SWD) announced today (April 30) that the New Home Association Limited (NHAL) has been commissioned to provide Social and Care Support Service under the Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong starting from tomorrow (May 1) to provide support to elderly participants and their families.
The Social and Care Support Service is one of the measures announced in the 2024 Policy Address to help elderly participants of the Scheme better adapt to the life in the residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs) on the Mainland and receive timely assistance when needed.
The NHAL will provide support services for the elderly participants under the Scheme, especially during the initial six-month trial period upon admission into the RCHEs, to assist them in understanding the Mainland’s medical systems and care services, maintain connections with their families in Hong Kong, and provide them with suitable advice and assistance in handling such matters as housing, medical care, financial matters, etc in Hong Kong. Continuous support will also be rendered in accordance with their needs upon completion of the trial period.
The Social and Care Support Service will also conduct assessments under the Standardised Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services and follow up applications for those Hong Kong elderly who have settled in Guangdong Province and are interested in joining the Scheme at their places of residence.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
LCQ18: Supply of seawater for flushing Question:
It is learnt that in order to help save fresh water resources, the Water Supplies Department has successfully extended the coverage of the seawater supply network for flushing (network) to about 85 per cent of the population in Hong Kong. However, some residents of housing courts in Sham Tseng have relayed to me that as the Government’s network does not cover their housing courts, residents can only use fresh water to flush toilets or purchase their own pumps to bring in seawater, and they have to pay the Government rent for the mains laid on Government land. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the housing courts that are currently not supplied with seawater for flushing and the number of households involved, as well as the reasons why they are not supplied with seawater for flushing, together with a breakdown by the 18 districts across the territory;
(2) whether the Government has plans to extend the network to cover all the housing courts in the vicinity of Tsuen Wan and Sham Tseng; if so, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) as it is learnt that residents of housing courts who have brought in seawater themselves for flushing purposes currently have to bear the double expenses of the cost of the seawater supply facilities and the Government rent arising from the seawater mains laid on Government land, whether the Government will, on the basis of the principle of fairness, exempt such residents from paying the Government rent; if not, of the specific reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Salt water has been used for flushing in Hong Kong since the 1950s. Over the years, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) has been progressively extending the salt water supply network which, nowadays, has covered about 85 per cent of Hong Kong’s population. The network supplies about 300 million cubic metres per annum of salt water to consumers.
The reply to the various parts of the question raised by Dr the Hon Chan is as follows:
(1) The accounts still using temporary mains fresh water for flushing (TMF) are scattered throughout the territory. The approximate number of accounts according to District Council districts is tabulated below (Note 1):
DistrictNote 1: The number of TMF is counted by the WSD on an account basis. TMF accounts are normally registered by management offices, agents, owners’ corporations and developers (not registered by individual households) for the purpose of collecting water fees relating to TMF. Meanwhile, there are no separate TMF accounts for domestic and non-domestic consumers. Therefore, the WSD does not maintain statistics on the number of households and housing courts using TMF in each district.
Note 2: The reclaimed water supply network in the North District was commissioned in March 2024. The WSD is supplying the reclaimed water to consumers progressively.
The WSD is further extending the salt water supply network to Shui Chuen O Estate in Sha Tin, Tung Chung New Town and its extension, and anticipates to commence the supply of salt water progressively from the second half of 2025 onwards.
In general, in the study of the extension of salt water supply network, the WSD takes into account the actual situation of the areas, including the proximity to the seafront, terrain, population distribution, cost effectiveness and technical feasibility, etc, ensuring the proper use of public funds. To supply salt water for flushing to individual areas that are remote, scattered, with low density or distant from the seafront, etc, the Government needs to lay water mains of long distance and construct pumping stations, which do not constitute the most cost-effective solution. Therefore, consumers in these areas use TMF for flushing. Meanwhile, the Government is promoting the use of recycled water in the Northern Metropolis for flushing and other non-potable uses. This will also help reduce the use of fresh water for flushing. The WSD will take into account the consideration of cost-effectiveness in reviewing the feasibility of extending the salt water and recycled water supply network to the districts listed above in a timely manner.
(2) In 2023, the WSD reviewed the cost effectiveness of extending the salt water supply network to Tsing Lung Tau and Sham Tseng. The review result revealed that although the areas are located in the proximity to the seafront and have a considerable size of population, the population and housing courts are scattered there, which require the laying of long water mains, resulting in higher construction and operating costs (If a salt water supply system is to be provided in Sham Tseng, it is necessary to construct an intake opening and a pumping station at the seawall for pumping salt water to the salt water service reservoir, and to lay water mains with several kilometres long. Such works are of larger scale and involve higher capital cost). Therefore, the extension of salt water supply to the vicinity of Tsing Lung Tau and Sham Tseng is not cost-effective at this stage, and thus the WSD has no relevant extension plan. The WSD will continue to monitor the situation and conduct review in a timely manner, taking into account factors including future developments in the area, engineering technology and cost considerations.
(3) Currently, for some private developments in seafront areas where the WSD does not supply salt water for flushing due to cost-effectiveness considerations, the Government will consider imposing lease conditions to require developers to construct flushing systems for residents, and to pay the licence fees/short term tenancy rentals for supply facilities that occupy Government land. The Sham Tseng housing court referred in the question falls under this situation.
Prior to signing of the land lease, developers have acknowledged these terms and reflected the costs of constructing the flushing system into the land premium payable to the Government. This effectively means the Government shares a definite responsibility for these construction costs through the reduced land premium. Daily expenses being borne by individual property owners typically include (i) licence fees/short term tenancy rentals for water supply facilities occupying Government land; and (ii) maintenance and repair costs for the housing court’s salt water supply system. Regarding the cost of item (i), regarding the mentioned case of Sham Tseng housing court, based on the current licence fees and short term tenancy rentals charged by the Lands Department, and calculated across the approximately 2 200 households in the concerned housing court, the average annual cost per household amounts to over $500. As for the cost regarding item (ii), while specific data for the concerned court is unavailable, the maintenance costs are expected to be reasonably affordable for the majority of households because salt water supply system is not a complex technology and the associated maintenance and repair costs are shared collectively among all households.
For future development projects, the WSD will consider whether to include the relevant conditions in land leases for developers to construct salt water flushing systems based on the factors mentioned in (2) above. If such water supply facilities occupy Government land, the Government currently charges licence fee/short term tenancy rental according to general land administrative policy. For similar new development projects in the future, we will consider whether waivers should be granted for such licence fees/short term tenancy rentals, and will make appropriate announcements before the implementation of development projects. Issued at HKT 16:55
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Provisional financial results for year ended March 31, 2025 Expenditure and revenue for the year ended March 31, 2025 amounted to HK$753.2 billion and HK$564.9 billion respectively, resulting in a deficit of HK$80.3 billion after taking into account HK$130 billion received from issuance of Government Bonds and repayment of HK$22 billion principal on Government Bonds.
Expenditure and revenue for the year were 3 per cent (HK$23.7 billion) and 10.8 per cent (HK$68.1 billion) lower than the original estimate respectively.
The consolidated deficit for the year was HK$80.3 billion, i.e. HK$6.9 billion lower than the revised estimate of HK$87.2 billion. Revenue was HK$5.3 billion (1 per cent) higher than expected, mainly attributable to stamp duties ($5.9 billion higher) and salaries tax ($0.9 billion higher). Expenditure was HK$1.5 billion (0.2 per cent) lower than the revised estimate mainly due to lower-than-expected requirements.
The fiscal reserves stood at HK$654.3 billion as at March 31, 2025.
A Government spokesperson said that these are provisional figures pending the final closing of the annual accounts. According to experience, any changes to the provisional figures are unlikely to be significant.
March 31, 2025 HK$ millionMarch 31, 2025 HK$ millionand repayment of Government Bondsissuance of Government BondsGovernment Bonds*and repayment of Government BondsGovernment Debts as at March 31, 2025 (Note 3) HK$299,344 million Debts Guaranteed by Government as at March 31, 2025 (Note 4) HK$127,472 million
TABLE 2. FISCAL RESERVES (PROVISIONAL)
March 31, 2025 HK$ millionMarch 31, 2025 HK$ millionissuance and repayment of Government Bonds(Note 5)Notes:
1. This Account consolidates the General Revenue Account and the following eight Funds: Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund. It excludes the Bond Fund, the balance of which is not part of the fiscal reserves. The Bond Fund balance as at March 31, 2025, was HK$225,261 million. (i) the Green Bonds (equivalent to HK$194,375 million as at March 31, 2025) issued under the Government Sustainable Bond Programme. They were denominated in US dollars (US$9,950 million with maturity from January 2026 to January 2053), euros (4,580 million euros with maturity from February 2026 to November 2041), Renminbi (RMB34,000 million with maturity from June 2025 to July 2054) and Hong Kong dollars (HK$42,000 million with maturity from May 2025 to October 2026);
(ii) the Infrastructure Bonds (equivalent to HK$50,177 million as at March 31, 2025) issued under the Infrastructure Bond Programme. They were denominated in Renminbi (RMB13,500 million with maturity from December 2025 to November 2034) and Hong Kong dollars (HK$35,730 million with maturity from November 2025 to March 2045); and
(iii) the Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$54,792 million (with maturity in October 2027 and may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders) issued under the Infrastructure Bond Programme.
They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$176,340 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,778 million as at March 31, 2025) issued under the Government Bond Programme with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund. Of these bonds under the Government Bond Programme (including Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$96,340 million, which may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders), bonds with nominal value of HK$6,500 million were repaid upon maturity on April 14, 2025; bonds with nominal value of HK$68,590 million will mature within the period from May 2025 to March 2026 and the rest within the period from April 2026 to May 2042.Issued at HKT 16:30