A BILL

To

Amend the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance.

Enacted by the Provisional Legislative Council.

1. Short title

This Ordinance may be cited as the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) (Amendment) Ordinance 1998.

2. Procedure after publication of plan and scheme

(1) Section 11 of the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance (Cap. 370) is amended by adding--

"(1A) Subject to subsection (1), the Secretary shall not later than--

(a) subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), 9 months after the expiration of the period for lodging objections under section 10(1);

(b) subject to paragraph (c), where there is any amendment to the plan or scheme under section 7, 3 months after the expiration of the period for lodging objections under section 10(1) in respect of any such amendment or, where there is more than one amendment, the last of any such amendment;

(c) such further period or periods as the Chief Executive may, having had regard to the circumstances of the case, allow,

submit to the Chief Executive in Council for consideration the plan and scheme and any objections lodged under section 10(1).

(1B) The Chief Executive in Council shall consider the plan and scheme submitted and any objections lodged under section 10(1).”.

(2) Section 11(2) is repealed and the following substituted--

"(2) The Chief Executive in Council, after considering the plan and scheme submitted and any objections lodged under section 10(1), may--

(a) decline to authorize the works and the use; or

(b) authorize the works and the use, with or without modification and subject to such conditions, as to the amelioration or avoidance of the effects of the works and the use or otherwise, as the Chief Executive in Council thinks fit.".

3. Transitional

Section 42 is amended by adding--

"(6) Where immediately before the commencement of the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) (Amendment) Ordinance 1998 ( of 1998) (“the amending Ordinance”), a notice had been published under section 8 in respect of any plan and scheme, the periods specified in section 11(1A)(a) and (b) respectively shall be calculated as from--

(a) the commencement of the amending Ordinance; or

(b) the expiry of the time for the lodging of objections under section 10,

whichever is the later.".

Explanatory Memorandum

This Bill amends the Roads (Works, Use and Compensation) Ordinance (Cap. 370) to impose a statutory time limit during which the Secretary for Transport is required to submit plans, schemes and objections to the Chief Executive in Council for consideration. The time limit is to run differently in relation to plans and schemes covered by notices published before the commencement of the amending Ordinance.