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At the meeting of the Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways on 3 July, the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) reported revised programme and cost to complete the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Shenzhen Express Rail Link (“XRL”) project. According to the latest assessment, the commissioning of the Hong Kong section of the XRL will delay further from the end of 2017 to the third quarter of 2018, including a 6-month contingency period. The MTRCL also advised that the cost to complete will have to be revised to $85.3 billion, including a sum of $2.1 billion for contingency. I expressed concern on the further delay and cost overrun, and urged the Administration and the MTRCL to work closely with the contractors to ensure smooth completion of the remaining works. 

2. Raised oral question on regulation of refrigerants

I raised an oral question at the LegCo to point out that the use of flammable refrigerants on unsuitable air-conditioning systems involves a degree of risks. I asked the Government if they have reviewed the existing mechanism for regulating the safety of refrigerants and explored the establishment of a uniform mechanism to rationalise the present situation under which different government departments are responsible for regulating the different aspects of refrigerants. The Government responded that existing laws can be applied to regulate the safety and environmental matters of substances being used as refrigerants. Relevant bureaux and enforcement departments will review and monitor the adoption of refrigerants to make continuous improvement to the regulatory mechanisms. Relevant departments will delineate clearly their respective regulatory and enforcement responsibilities. 

Welcome to view my question and the reply via this link: 

At the meeting of the Finance Committee on 5 June, the funding request of Liantang/Heung Yue Wai Boundary Control Point and associated works with a total sum of $33,785 million was approved. The project will enhance the cross-boundary transport handling capability and bring about substantial strategic and economic benefits to Hong Kong.

The Government reported the implementation details of the “Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Pilot Scheme” (GSH) at the Housing Panel meeting on 1 June 2015. Under this scheme, Green Form applicants may apply for the purchase of newly built public rental housing (PRH) flats offered at half of the market price. This will help them achieve home ownership and at the same time release PRH flats for applicants awaiting PRH allocation. Members raised concerns at the meeting over the resale arrangements and measures to avoid speculative trading of GSH flats. A motion to adjourn GSH was moved at the meeting, but was negatived. The Anderson Road public housing development and the So Uk Estate redevelopment will be the first two pilot projects. 

5. Report of the Task Force on External Lighting

The Government set up the Task Force on External Lighting to tackle nuisance and energy wastage problems caused by external lighting. The Task Force submitted its report to the Government in April 2015 and recommended to adopt a multi-pronged approach to solve the problems. At the Environmental Affairs Panel meeting on 2 June 2015, the Government responded to the Task Force’s recommendations. Instead of rigorous regulation of external lighting, the Task Force recommends a charter scheme as it allows more flexibility and can be implemented within a shorter time. The Government welcomed the recommendations and will commence preparatory work to launch the charter scheme within this year. 

On 3 July 2015, I met representatives of the taxi industry to listen to their concerns on the taxi-hailing apps. They feared the taxi-hailing apps could throw the industry into disarray and the taxi industry demands for stricter law enforcement actions. 

7. Awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star (SBS) in the 2015 Honors List