A detailed report by the Public Accounts Committee said:

``The committee is gravely dissatisfied that, although, about HK$1.2 billion has been spent so far on implementing the measures outlined in the 1999 policy address to reduce vehicle emissions, the air quality in Hong Kong has not improved.''

In 1999, then-Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa announced to Legco that the government would allocate HK$1.4 billion to help combat emissions from diesel vehicles.

To date, HK$1.2 billion has been spent on retrofitting liquified petroleum gas (LPG) taxis, pre-Euro diesel light vehicles, non-long-idling pre-Euro diesel heavy vehicles and electric light buses.

The remaining HK$200 million will be spent on modifying long-idling diesel heavy vehicles and LPG light buses

by the end of the year. There are 18,138 taxis and more than 5,500 buses in Hong Kong.

Tung stipulated that, by 2005, he wanted to cut respirable suspended particulate (RSP) emissions - which are a component of smog - from diesel vehicles by 80 percent and nitrogen dioxide emissions by 30 percent.

Six years later, this goal has been met. The report found that, at the end of 2004, RSPs had been reduced by 79 percent and nitrogen dioxides by 39 percent in urban areas.

However, the former chief executive also announced that, by cutting these pollutants, air quality would improve and would be comparable to that in London or New York City. The respiratory health of citizens would also be substantially improved, said Tung.

But committee chairman Philip Wong said this has not occurred.

``When the administration sought funding approvals for implementing the measures, it had not informed the Legislative Council that the reduction in vehicle emissions might not bring about an improvement in the air quality,'' Wong said.

In order to reduce emissions, the government introduced an ultra-low sulfur diesel.

All diesel-vehicle owners were also required to retrofit their vehicles with a device that would reduce RSPs. The report stated that the program was successful at ``achieving the target to reduce vehicle emissions.''

But, according to Environment, Transport and Works Secretary Sarah Liao, cutting diesel emissions was not enough to improve air quality.

``Diesel vehicles were only one of the sources of air pollution,'' she said in the report to the committee.

``Other major sources of pollution came from pollutants generated by industrial and commercial operations and power plants in Hong Kong and in the region.''

Wong said the program also has to focus on private vehicles, as there are 517,000 private cars in Hong Kong.

``The government should look more at cars as pollution makers,'' he said.

Wong said one of the problems may have been the fact that the RSP-elimnating devices were placed in vehicles by their owners.

In future, this will be carried out by specially designated agents.

On the brighter side, Wong said the money spent was not a total waste.

Pointing out that there has been a reduction in diesel emissions, he added: ``If we didn't spend that sum of money, we would have even worse air quality.''

staff.reporter@singtaonewscorp.com