To reduce air pollution, the Government proposes to amend regulations to require the installation of vapour-recovery systems at petrol stations.

The Environment, Transport & Works Bureau said the proposal, when fully implemented, can reduce the emission of about 740 tonnes of vapour organic compounds each year.

Under the proposal, all newly built petrol stations will need to be equipped with a system that recovers petrol vapour during refuelling, with immediate effect once the regulation comes into force.

Existing petrol stations will have three years to retrofit their stations with the systems.

With around 180 stations in Hong Kong, it is estimated that the total installation cost to the trade will be around $72 million, and the annual maintenance, operating and certification costs will be around $18 million.

Since the system will recover 95% of petrol vapour, which will then become reusable petrol, the cost of installing and running the vapour-recovery system will be partly offset by the revenue to be gained through the fuel recovered.

It is estimated that stations will recover around 730 tonnes of petrol worth $11 million annually.

Therefore, the net annual additional recurrent cost arising from the vapour recovery systems should be significantly less than $18 million.

The impact of the proposal on petrol prices should be minimal because the installation cost and the net annual operating cost of the systems will only be about 1.2% and 0.2% of the petrol turnover of the operators.

The Government plans to finalise the proposal with a view to tabling the legislation at the Legislative Council next year.