The Government published in the Gazette today (October 31) the Aerial Ropeways (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 made under the Aerial Ropeways (Safety) Ordinance (Cap. 211) to revise five fee items for services provided by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department to achieve full cost recovery.
A Government spokesman said that in line with the "user pays" principle, it is the Government's policy that fees charged for government services should in general be set at levels adequate to recover the full cost of providing the services.
The Aerial Ropeways (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 revises five fee items, which were last revised in 2000, payable on the making of an application under regulation 4 or under regulation 5(7) of the Aerial Ropeways (Operation and Maintenance) Regulations (Cap. 211 sub. leg. A). The fees will increase by 14 per cent to 19 per cent to reflect the actual work involved in processing the applications as well as the increase in costs since the last fee revision. Details of the current and revised fees are set out in the Annex.
The spokesman said that there are two aerial ropeways in operation in Hong Kong, namely the cable cars at Ocean Park and Ngong Ping 360. The proposed increase in fees should have little impact on the operators or the relevant persons as the fees payable are relatively small compared with their total operating costs and are one-off.
The Amendment Regulation will be tabled at the Legislative Council (LegCo) for negative vetting on November 5. Subject to scrutiny by the LegCo, the revised fees will come into effect on January 12, 2015.
Ends/Friday, October 31, 2014
Issued at HKT 11:01
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