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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The delegation of the Legislative Council Panel on Development departed for Singapore this afternoon (March 20) to begin a four-day duty visit.
The purpose of the visit is for members of the delegation to study Singapore's experience, policies and strategies on water supply management. They will visit several facilities in the country to gain first-hand information on the development, operation and cost-effectiveness of seawater desalination and water reclamation. Delegation members will also exchange views with the relevant parties involved in the formulation, implementation and monitoring of strategies on water supply management in Singapore to obtain useful knowledge for consideration of water resources development in Hong Kong.
In light of the occurrence of the incidents last year in which the drinking water at consumers' taps in some residential buildings and schools were found to have a lead content exceeding the World Health Organization's standard, delegation members will also take the opportunity to learn about the measures taken by the Singapore government to safeguard the quality of piped drinking water.
The itinerary of the visit is as follows:
March 20-23, 2016 (Sunday-Wednesday)
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* Meet with representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources; the Public Utilities Board (PUB); and the National Environment Agency of Singapore;
* Visit to Tuaspring Desalination Plant;
* Visit to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, a flagship project under Singapore's Active, Beautiful and Clean (ABC) Waters Programme;
* Meet with members of the Government Parliamentary Committees for National Development and the Environment and Water Resources;
* Visit to Bedok NEWater Factory;
* Meet with representatives of Water Quality Office and Water Supply (Network) Department of PUB.
The delegation is led by the Chairman of the Panel on Development, Mr Tony Tse. Other members include Mr Leung Che-cheung (Deputy Chairman of the Panel), Ms Cyd Ho, Mr Ip Kwok-him, Mr Alan Leong, Mr Leung Kwok-hung, Mr Albert Chan, Mr James Tien, Mr Chan Chi-chuen, Miss Chan Yuen-han, Dr Helena Wong, as well as Mr Kenneth Leung, who is a non-Panel Member.
Ends/Sunday, March 20, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:59
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