Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ2: Proposed North Lantau Hospital
Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-hing and a reply by the Secretary
for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today
(November 23):
Question:
With the gradual increase in the population of Lantau and the opening of the
Hong Kong Disneyland, the demand of both residents and tourists on medical
services has increased. Regarding the progress of the construction of the North
Lantau Hospital, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the anticipated number of people to be served by the Hospital;
(b) whether it has formally consulted the relevant District Council and the Tung
Chung Rural Committee on the proposed location of the Hospital and decided on
the location; if it has, of the location; if not, when a decision will be made;
and
(c) of the expected dates of the commencement of the construction works and the
commissioning of the Hospital?
Reply :
Madam President,
(a) According to our preliminary planning, the proposed North Lantau Hospital (NLH)
will be commissioned in phases. Phase 1 will come into service some time in
2011/12 the earliest to serve about 120,000 residents. When it is in full
operation, the hospital is expected to serve about 260,000 residents.
(b) We briefed the Islands District Council (IDC) in June this year on our plan
to construct the NLH in Tung Chung Areas 13, 22 and 25. We also undertook to
consult the District Council and the Tung Chung Rural Committee (TCRC) on the
proposed location of the hospital and the services to be provided, after
completion of the feasibility study and preliminary planning of the project. The
Technical Feasibility Statement for the project has been completed recently,
which confirmed its technical feasibility. As a next step, we will proceed to
conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study. Thereafter, we will
carry out a formal consultation exercise at the district level on the detailed
arrangements of the proposed hospital, including its proposed location and
services to be provided. The site for the proposed hospital is located in Tung
Chung Areas 13, 22 and 25, with a gross area of about 48 720 sq. m. The current
planned use of Area 13 is "Government, Institution or Community (G/IC)" while
that of Areas 22 and 25 is "Residential (Group A)". We will submit an
application to the Town Planning Board (TPB) at a later stage for a change of
the land use for the purpose of constructing a hospital at the above site.
(c) We need to conduct an EIA study, consult the IDC and the TCRC on the
proposed location and the services to be provided, as well as to make an
application to the TPB for a change of the land use, and to seek funds from the
Public Works Subcommittee and the Finance Committee of this Council.
Furthermore, we also need to take into account, among others, the prospective
increase in the population of Lantau Island and the local residents' demand for
emergency medical services. As such, according to the current plan, it is
expected that construction works for the hospital will start in 2008/09 at the
earliest and the hospital, which will be commissioned in phases, go commence
operation some time in 2011/12.
Ends/Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:20
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