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Press
Releases - 1998
New
refuse transfer station for West Kowloon
West Kowloon
Refuse Transfer Station (WKTS), the largest in terms of waste
handling capacity, was officially opened today (Wednesday)
by Legislative Council member, Miss Christine Loh.
Located
at the West Kowloon Reclamation area near Stonecutters Island,
the transfer station was built at a capital cost of $627 million
and with an annual operating cost of about $77 million.
Capable
of processing 2,500 tonnes of waste per day, the WKTS serves
a population of 1.5 million people in its catchment which
covers Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung, Tsing Yi, Sham Shui Po, Yau
Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok.
The acting
Director of Environmental Protection, Mr Michael Stokoe, said
at the ceremony: "This station is designed with a high tolerance
to accommodate short-term surges and irregularities in waste
throughput to suit the unique situation in Hong Kong.
"The
flexibility we enjoy in this waste transfer system is that
its destiny can be changed to where the new disposal facility
will be, without disrupting the waste collection services
provided to the general public," he added.
The WKTS
is one of the first two stations that are running a trial
scheme to provide waste transfer services to private collectors
on a voluntary basis. Those private collectors using this
service will pay a charge based on the weight of waste delivered.
All the
wastes received at the station are compacted into specially-designed
sealed containers which will be transferred by marine vessels
to the West New Territories Landfill at Nim Wan for final
disposal.
The two
marine vessels, "Ngon Shuen" and "Lai Wan", are the largest
local container vessels registered in Hong Kong which can
take up to 210 waste containers on board.
"It takes
away hundreds of waste delivery trips from the highways everyday,
together with smell and nuisance that people often complain
about. Apart from bringing a cleaner environment, this bulk
transfer mechanism also means significant capital saving in
keeping a small waste collection fleet and efficiency saving
in the collection services," Mr Stokoe emphasised.
The WKTS
is operating to very high environmental standards whereby
all air and effluent emissions from the facility would be
properly treated before discharge.
Like
other waste management projects, the WKTS is developed under
a "design, build and operate" contract arrangement. The contractor,
South China WMI Transfer Limited, is responsible for operating
the station for 15 years.
End/Wednesday,
August 12, 1998
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