Old Buildings To Get HK$1b To Revamp Sewage Pipes

The government announced on Wednesday it will set aside HK$1 billion to subsidise owners of old buildings to improve their sewage pipes, but a plumbing expert said the authorities should also conduct regular checks to ensure the pipes are well maintained.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said during his budget speech that the government will provide subsidies for owners of more than 3,000 old buildings with relatively low rateable values to carry out drainage repair or enhancement works.

He said that's because people have become increasingly concerned about environmental hygiene issues such as misconnection and dilapidation of the drainage pipes of buildings amid the Covid-19 epidemic.

The Buildings Department can also carry out the works for buildings that don't have any form of resident organisations, and where owners may have difficulty organising the needed improvement work.

Henry Hung, a fellow of the Chartered Institution of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, told RTHK he welcomes the move although it came "a bit late", after the coronavirus was believed to have spread via substandard sewage pipes in the territory.

He added that to better ensure public health, the authorities should check the pipes regularly even after they are renovated.

"If a system is repaired and redone, certainly this will improve public hygiene, but... it also takes time to maintain a good management system," he said.

"That means after the new, improved installation, [the government] people need to keep an eye on how people use it, and how to maintain the system working properly."

He added an average subsidy of HK$330,000 may not be enough for revamping pipes at old buildings.

"An eight-storey building with a lot of subdivided rooms.. [for] this kind of buildings it may be insufficient.

"But of course some simple eight-storey [buildings] with two or three units, then those may be okay."