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Following is the transcript of remarks (English portion) made by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, at the lobby of the Central Government Offices, West Wing, today (January 17):
Reporter: Can you clarify that China Hong Kong Power Development Company had made an application to......
SEDL: I can confirm that we have received an application from the company for the use of certain sites for (the construction of) transformers. We will certainly consider their application in accordance with existing procedures and legislation. Certainly we need to bear in mind such factors as environmental protection, land use, safety and planning. We will look at the application from all angles and we need more information from the company.
Reporter: How would you react to CLP's remarks that the Government's proposal is too harsh?......What kind of information do you need from the new competitor?
SEDL: There are two questions here. I will deal with the second question first. In considering the application, the concerned departments will have to consider, for example, the transmission plan of the company concerned, where is it going to have the reliable electricity supply, the routing, how is it going to lay the cables, from which point to where the transformer is? It is because we have safety considerations. We have to make sure that public safety would not be adversely affected. The concerned departments will also consider environmental protection, land use and planning factors. We need all such information before we can process the application.
Returning to your first question - whether we are too harsh? I consider our proposal very reasonable. As I have just explained, we have to bear in mind our four objectives. What we are proposing is to strike a balance between these objectives, and also (a balance) between the interests of power companies, the public and the environment. So we need a package that would ensure that all these objectives are met. We believe that these can be achieved.
Reporter: Is there any chance......the Government will change its proposal?
SEDL: This is only the beginning of the consultation period. We need to collect all the views from the public and interested parties. We will certainly consider all submissions very carefully. And then we will decide on the way forward.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)
Ends/Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Issued at HKT 20:40
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