Following is a question by the Hon LAU Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 2):
Question:
With regard to the setting up and operation of liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") filling stations, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have received complaints, over the past three years, about the long queuing time during rush hours for LPG vehicles seeking service at LPG filling stations built on sites awarded by the Government at nil land premium because such filling stations were not in full operation; if so, of the follow-up actions taken, and whether it has negotiated with the operators to ensure full operation of LPG filling stations during rush hours; if it has not, the reasons for that;
(b) how the LPG prices at LPG filling stations built on land at nil land premium compare to those at other LPG filling stations; and
(c) of the existing locations of LPG filling stations, as well as the number and locations of new LPG filling stations planned to be set up in the next three years?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Between 2002 and 2004, the Government received a total of 35 complaints against some dedicated LPG filling stations that were not in full operation. Upon receipt of the complaints, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) carried out surprise inspections of the filling stations concerned and wrote to the companies involved to ask for improvement. No such complaints were received from February to September this year.
The Government received another 10 complaints since the end of September this year. Upon receipt of the complaints, EMSD staff carried out eight surprise inspections of the filling stations concerned during rush hours. It was found that the maximum number of vehicles queuing for service ranged from two to 42 and the longest time spent from queuing to completing the refilling ranged from five to 20 minutes. It was only on one occasion that the filling station was found not to have made full use of its LPG nozzles.
The Government has informed operators of the dedicated LPG filling stations of the complaints and has written to them to request for the provision of sufficient manpower and utilization of all LPG filling facilities at the filling stations during rush hours. The authorities will continue to carry out surprise inspections of the filling stations so as to ensure faithful discharge of duties by the operators.
Moreover, the Government will continue to monitor the operations of filling stations and traffic condition in the vicinity and will write to the associations of taxi and public light bus operators to encourage drivers to go for refilling during off-peak hours to avoid queuing and traffic congestion.
(b) The LPG prices at dedicated LPG filling stations are fixed according to the contractual tender prices while those at non-dedicated filling stations are adjusted in light of market conditions from time to time. A comparison of the highest and the lowest LPG prices between the two types of filling stations is set out below -
Type of filling stations Highest price Lowest price
(per litre) (per litre)
Dedicated LPG filling stations HK$2.79 HK$2.42
Non-dedicated LPG filling stations HK$3.16 HK$2.99
*The figures refer to the prices as of 14 October 2005
(c) After some four years of efforts, we have significantly expanded the LPG filling network from four temporary stations at the outset to 53 at present (including 12 large-scale dedicated LPG stations), which are sufficient for use by all taxis and public light buses. Details of these LPG filling stations are at the Annex. At present, at least three LPG filling stations are under planning or construction, two of which are in Tung Chung whereas another is in Tai Po. They are scheduled for completion in 2006/07. Moreover, for all lands granted for petrol filling stations in future, the Government will require the land users to provide LPG filling facilities as long as safety requirements are met, in order to further expand the LPG filling network.
Ends/Wednesday, November 2, 2005