The Hong Kong government said on Tuesday that it understood
local residents' concerns about the poultry processing facility
plan in Sheung Shui at the New Territories and would try to
minimize possible nuisance which might caused by the plan.
The Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of Hong
Kong Carrie Yau Tuesday briefed the Heung Yee Kuk, an organization
representing residents of the New Territories, on the proposed
Sheung Shui poultry processing plant project and exchanged views
with Heung Yee Kuk members on the project.
Yau repeated that the primary purpose for developing the
processing plant to place poultry slaughtering activities under one
roof was to achieve the policy objective of separating live poultry
from humans through minimizing their contacts as far as practicable
to reduce the risk of human infection of avian influenza.
She stressed that various factors had been taken into account as
far as possible when identifying the plant site. The proposed site
is located close to the boundary and local poultry farms, which
could shorten the route for transporting live chickens.
In addition, there was also readily available basic
infrastructure such as water and electricity supply and sewage
network and the relevant land lot could be used within a short
time, allowing the slaughtering plant to come into operation as
soon as possible.
"This is the first time Hong Kong plans to develop a poultry
processing facility, and residents' anxiety is understandable.
"We are willing to continue to maintain close contacts with the
relevant organizations and stakeholders on the site issue in the
hope of gauging views from various parties during the planning
process and actively seeking a consensus," Yau said.
Yau further explained that the government would conduct a
statutory environmental impact assessment study and request the
operator of the processing plant to adopt design and measures that
would effectively control the impact on the environment and reduce
possible nuisance.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2006)