Plan would see poultry processed 200 metres from homes
Opposition was mounting yesterday over a government plan for a poultry slaughterhouse to be built about 200 metres from a residential area in Sheung Shui.
Villagers said most of the 3,000 residents in the area opposed the plant - with a capacity to slaughter 60,000 chickens a day - because of the bird flu risk. And an infectious diseases specialist also said the 10,500-square-metre site, next to the Shek Wu Hui wastewater treatment plant, was too near homes.
Under the government's plan, the slaughterhouse, estimated to cost $200 million, will be built by a private company, which will also run the service. The administration's role will be confined to monitoring the operation to ensure it meets hygiene standards, a government source said.
The plan calls for tenders to be invited this year and for the slaughterhouse to open in 2009.
Lo Wing-lok, a member of the H5N1 concern group, said areas within 3km of a bird flu outbreak were considered high risk by international standards.