Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ18: Installing air-conditioning systems in public markets

Following is a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (October 22):

Question:

Concerning the installation of air-conditioning systems in public markets under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Hong Kong Housing Authority, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the names of the public markets not yet installed with such systems and the districts in which these markets are located, as well as the reasons for not yet installing such systems;

(b) whether the authorities concerned will review the current criteria for installing such systems in public markets and whether such systems will be installed in all public markets in Hong Kong; if there will be no review or such systems will not be installed, of the reasons for that; and

(c) whether the authorities concerned have evaluated the impact of not having such systems installed in public markets on their competitiveness against private superstores, and whether the room for survival of public markets will be reduced indirectly?

Reply:

President,

Whilst the project costs for installing air-conditioning systems in the existing public / public housing estate markets are borne by the Government or the Housing Authority (HA), the market tenants are responsible for paying the subsequent recurrent costs such as electricity charges and maintenance fees. Besides, full cooperation from market tenants during the construction period is also needed as partial closure of the market may be required during the installation works. Therefore, the installation of air-conditioning systems in public / public housing estate markets is not only due to technical feasibility, but also support from the majority of market tenants and their agreement to bear the recurrent expenditure.

Our reply to the three-part question raised by Hon Lau Kong-wah is as follows:

(a) At present, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) manages a total of 80 public markets, of which 60 are not provided with air-conditioning. Of the 40 public markets with built-in cooked food centres (CFCs), 19 are not provided with air-conditioning. As for the 19 public housing estate markets managed by the HA, 16 are not provided with air-conditioning. Details are at Annex.

Most of the public / public housing estate markets with no air-conditioning were built in the 1970s and 1980s, and air-conditioning systems or supporting facilities for installing such systems were not included in the original market design. For some markets, proposals to install air-conditioning systems were not supported by the majority of market tenants.

(b) The Administration will review from time to time whether the existing policy on installing air-conditioning systems in public markets remains appropriate. As mentioned above, the project costs for installing air-conditioning systems in the existing public markets are borne by the Government or HA. The project costs are also quite substantial. Take public markets under FEHD as an example, depending on the size of the market and complexity of the installation works, the installation works for each market can cost tens of millions. In fact, there are divergent views in the community on whether air-conditioning systems should be installed in public markets. Some opine that installing air-conditioning systems would enhance the attractiveness of public markets. However, some market tenants are of the view that installing air-conditioning systems would increase their operating cost. In view of the huge amount of project costs involved, when the Legislative Council considered proposals in the past to install air-conditioning systems in public markets and CFCs, there were comments that due care should be exercised when considering such proposals in view of the substantial amount of public money involved in installing air-conditioning systems.

(c) The viability of public markets is affected by a myriad of factors, including the location of the market, demographic mix in the district, competition from fresh provision shops in the vicinity, the price and quality of the products offered for sale, and the varieties of products available in the markets, etc. As pointed out in Report No. 41 by the Director of Audit, evidence indicating that the retrofitting of air-conditioning systems can improve the viability of a public market has yet to be found. As a matter of fact, the market stall vacancy rates of some public markets retrofitted with air-conditioning systems remain high.

The FEHD and the HA have been keeping in view the viability of public / public housing estate markets and will continue to carry out improvement works to enhance their attractiveness. Such improvement works include enhancing the effectiveness of the ventilation and lighting system, improving drainage system, modifying the design and sizes of market stalls, renovation of ceiling, provision of new signage, renovation of market toilets, upgrading of fire services installations and replacement of wall / floor tiles, etc.


Ends/Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Issued at HKT 13:06

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Annex to LCQ18