December 05, 2011

Hong Kong and Guangdong today signed a new agreement on the supply of Dongjiang water to Hong Kong from 2012 to 2014.
 
The agreement will guarantee Hong Kong a stable yet flexible supply of Dongjiang water up to 2014. The supply will cater for Hong Kong's requirements even under extreme drought conditions with a return period of one in 100 years.
    
Under the new agreement, Hong Kong will pay fixed lump sums of $3.5387 billion, $3.7433 billion and $3.95934 billion for 2012, 2013 and 2014.
 
There will be flexibility in the daily supply rate to tie in with seasonal fluctuations in the local yield, which will enable Hong Kong to better manage the storage level in reservoirs, minimising wastage and saving pumping costs.
 
Under the current water-supply agreement, the Guangdong side undertakes to strive to maintain the quality of the Dongjiang water supply to Hong Kong in compliance with the latest national standard.
 
Secretary for Development Carrie Lam and Guandong's Department of Water Resources Director General Huang Boqing signed the pact in Shenzhen.  Afterwards Mrs Lam and other Hong Kong officials visited Shenzhen Reservoir and the Dongjiang water-supply facilities at Jinghu Pumping Station, Taiyuan Pumping Station and the Shima River Sewage Diversion Works in Dongguan. 
    
Mrs Lam will visit Xinfengjiang Reservoir in Heyuan - one of the three major reservoirs upstream of Dongjiang that regulate the flow in Dongjiang on December 6 before returning to Hong Kong.