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The Government endeavours to put forward landslip prevention and mitigation programmes with a view to minimising landslide risks arising from both man-made slopes and natural hillsides. Public education activities are organised to enhance public awareness of slope safety.
Speaking at the award presentation ceremony of the Boulder Fence Model Design Competition today (July 7), the Director of Civil Engineering and Development, Mr Hon Chi-keung, said that the Geotechnical Engineering Office of the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) has developed a comprehensive slope safety system in phases since its establishment in 1977. Under the system, the landslide risk from man-made slopes has been significantly reduced by 75 per cent.
"The Landslip Prevention and Mitigation Programme launched in 2010 deals with landslide hazards from man-made slopes and natural hillsides systematically, with a view to containing landslide risks in Hong Kong at a level that is as low as reasonably practicable in the long term," he said.
The CEDD regularly holds promotional activities in the community to remind the public to stay vigilant against landslide hazards. The Boulder Fence Model Design Competition held last month by the CEDD together with the Education Bureau, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers was one of the educational activities on slope safety. Aiming to raise students' awareness of boulder falls and other landslide hazards, the competition attracted more than 500 students from 50 secondary schools. Participating students were required to produce a boulder fence model with materials such as newspaper, bamboo sticks and rubber bands to resist the impact of falling dry batteries, which simulated boulder falls. The adjudication panel was impressed by the high quality of the entries in terms of efficiency, creativity, aesthetics and robustness.
The list of the winning entries is shown in the Annex. For more information about the competition, the Landslip Prevention and Mitigation Programme and slope safety, please visit the Hong Kong Slope Safety Website (hkss.cedd.gov.hk).
Ends/Sunday, July 7, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:20
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