Authorities in Guangdong province and the Hong Kong special
administrative region have agreed to push ahead with 23 cooperative
projects this year, Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration
Henry Tang said yesterday.
"The projects, which range from environmental protection to
infrastructure, trade, technology, service and food safety, will be
of great importance to the social and economic integration for both
sides," Tang said.
Tang was leading a delegation attending the 10th working meeting
of the Hong Kong-Guangdong Cooperation Joint conference yesterday
in Guangzhou.
In terms of environmental protection, Hong Kong and Guangdong
will continue to implement the Pearl River Delta Regional Air
Quality Management Plan, which was drawn up in December 2003, Tang
said.
Also, the mid-term report of the plan's implementation was
released yesterday by environmental protection authorities, and was
considered by government officials from both sides.
"The emission-reduction and control measures that both sides
have adopted can bring about a positive impact, cutting air
pollutant emissions in the Pearl River Delta region," Tang
said.
In April 2002, authorities in Hong Kong and Guangdong agreed
that by 2010 they would reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide in the
delta region by 40 percent, nitrogen oxides by 20 percent,
respirable suspended particulates by 55 percent, and volatile
organic compounds by 55 percent, based on 1997 levels.
"These measures are conducive to achieving the agreed 2010
emission targets as both sides have reiterated their commitment to
the measures set out in the management plan," Tang said.
Further measures include tightening emissions standards for
boilers, setting limits on the amount of volatile organic compounds
in consumer products and the removal of nitrogen oxides from newly
built power plants.
In terms of infrastructure cooperation, Tang said the
construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge will begin soon,
once funding is finalized.
"But the timetable for the construction has not yet been
specified," Tang said.
He said both sides had agreed to set up a joint research team to
work on the new Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai Checkpoint, which links
Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Both sides are also pushing ahead with construction work on the
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which runs from
Hong Kong's West Kowloon to Shibi and Guangzhou, Tang said.
(China Daily January 9, 2008)