4. Noise

4.1 Introduction

4.1.1 This section describes the noise impact assessment for the Project. Construction noise and road traffic noise impact assessment were conducted in accordance with the requirements set in Annexes 5 and 13 of the Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM) and S3.4.5 of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study Brief No. ESB-356/2022.

4.2 Environmental Legislations, Standards, and Criteria

4.2.1 Noise impact was assessed in accordance with the criteria and methodology described in EIAO-TM and the Technical Memoranda stipulated under the Noise Control Ordinance (NCO).

4.2.2 The NCO and EIAO provide the statutory framework for noise control. Construction assessment methodology and standards are set out in the following Technical Memoranda:

· Technical Memorandum on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIAO-TM);

· Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work in Designated Areas (DA-TM);

· Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work other than Percussive Piling (GW-TM); and

· Technical Memorandum on Noise from Percussive Piling (PP-TM).

4.2.3 Regarding the assessment on construction noise impact during restricted hours (i.e., between 19:00 and 07:00 hours and at any time on Sundays and general holidays), the NCO designates acceptable noise levels (ANLs) for Noise Sensitive Receivers (NSRs) based on an Area Sensitivity Rating (ASR), which is determined by the characteristics of the area within which they are located as described in Table 4.1. Within these areas, the presence of “influencing factors” (such as the presence of industrial area of major roads) can further affect the ASR and hence the acceptable noise criteria.

Table 4.1 Area Sensitivity Ratings (ASRs)

Type of Area Containing NSR	Degree to which NSR is affected by Influencing Factor
	Not Affected	Indirectly Affected	Directly Affected
Rural area, including country parks or village type developments	A	B	B
Low density residential area consisting of low-rise or isolated high-rise developments	A	B	C
Urban area	B	C	C
Area other than those above	B	B	C

Note:

1. “Country Park” means an area that is designated as a country park pursuant to section 14 of the Country Parks Ordinance;

2. “Directly affected" means that the NSR is at such a location that noise generated by the IF is readily noticeable at the NSR and is a dominant feature of the noise climate of the NSR;

3. "Indirectly affected" means that the NSR is at such a location that noise generated by the IF, whilst noticeable at the NSR, is not a dominant feature of the noise climate of the NSR;

4. "Not affected" means that the NSR is at such a location that noise generated by the IF is not noticeable at the NSR; and

5. "Urban area" means an area of high density, diverse development including a mixture of such elements as industrial activities, major trade or commercial activities and residential premises.

Construction Noise

General Construction Works

4.2.4 The NCO provides the statutory framework for noise control of construction works, other than percussive piling, using powered mechanical equipment (PME) between the hours of 1900 and 0700 hours or at any time on Sundays and general holiday (i.e., restricted hours). Noise from construction activities taking place at 0700 – 1900 hours on any day not being a Sunday or general holiday is subject to the Noise Standards for Daytime Construction Activities stated in Table 1B of Annex 5 in the EIAO-TM. The noise limit is Leq(30 minutes) 75 dB(A) at 1m from the external façades of domestic premises, temporary housing accommodation, hostels, convalescent homes, and homes for the aged which rely on opened window for ventilation, and Leq(30 minutes) 70 dB(A) at 1m from the external façade of places of public worship, courts of law, hospitals, medical clinics, and educational institutions (including kindergartens and nurseries) which rely on opened window for ventilation (Leq(30 minutes) 65 dB(A) during examinations).

Construction Works during Restricted Hours

4.2.5 On all days between 1900 and 0700 hours and at any time on Sundays and general holidays, the use of PME for the purpose of carrying out construction works is prohibited unless a Construction Noise Permit (CNP) has been obtained. A CNP may be granted provided that the ANL for the NSRs can be complied with. ANLs are assigned depending upon the ASR and are given in Table 4.2.

Table 4.2 Acceptable Noise Levels under the Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work other than Percussive Piling

Time Period	Acceptable Noise Level (ANLs), dB(A)
	ASR A	ASR B	ASR C
All days during the evening (1900 to 2300 hours), and general holidays (including Sundays) during the daytime and evening (0700 to 2300 hours)	60	65	70
All days during the night-time (2300 to 0700 hours)	45	50	55

4.2.6 The Noise Control Authority will consider a well-justified CNP application, for construction works within restricted hours as guided by the relevant Technical Memoranda issued under the Noise Control Ordinance. The Noise Control Authority will consider contemporary conditions / situations of adjoining land uses and any previous complaints against construction activities at the site before making his decision in granting a CNP. If a CNP is to be issued, the Noise Control Authority shall include in it any condition he thinks fit. Failure to comply with any such conditions will lead to cancellation of the CNP and prosecution action under the NCO.

4.2.7 Under the DA-TM, the use of five types of Specified Powered Mechanical Equipment (SPME) and three types of Prescribed Construction Work (PCW) within a designated area during restricted hours would require a valid CNP. The SPME includes hand-held breaker, bulldozer, concrete lorry mixer, dump truck, and hand-held vibratory poker. The PCW are:

· Erecting or dismantling of formwork or scaffolding.

· Loading, unloading or handling of rubble, wooden boards, steel bars, wood or scaffolding material.

· Hammering.

4.2.8 In general, it should not be presumed that a CNP may be granted for carrying out PCW within a designated area during restricted hours only if the location of work being carried out is screened by solid barriers, such as purpose-designed acoustic screens, buildings or topographical features. The CNP may be granted for the execution of construction works during restricted hours involving the use of PME and/ or SPME if the relevant Acceptable Noise Levels and criteria stipulated in the GW-TM and DA-TM can be met. The ANLs for the use of SPME within a designated area (i.e., those listed in DA-TM) are more stringent (i.e., 15 dB(A) lower than those listed in the GW-TM) to offer additional protection to the population.

4.2.9 Percussive piling is prohibited between 1900 and 0700 hours on any weekday not being a general holiday and at any time on Sunday or general holiday. A CNP is required for the carrying out of percussive piling between 0700 and 1900 hours on any day not being a general holiday. PP-TM sets out the requirements for working and determination of the permitted hours of operations for the CNP applications. The permitted hours of operations would be 3, 5 or 12 hours per day depending on the types of percussive piling and the predicted noise impact at NSRs.

Operation Noise

4.2.10 For road traffic noise, the following L_{10(1 hour)} criteria stipulated in Annex 5, Table 1A of EIAO-TM are adopted for several types of noise sensitive receivers (NSRs) which rely on opened windows for ventilation:

· 70 dB(A) at 1 m from the external façades of domestic premises, temporary housing accommodation, hostels, convalescent homes, and homes for the aged;

· 65 dB(A) at 1 m from the external façades of educational institutions (including kindergartens and nurseries), places of public worship, and courts of law;

· 55 dB(A) at 1 m from the external façades of hospital and medical clinics.

4.2.11 No fixed plant will be installed under the Project. Hence, fixed noise sources impact is not anticipated.

4.3 Description of the Environment

4.3.1 According to the Annual Traffic Census 2022 published by the Transport Department, the YLH is categorized as an expressway which connects Lam Tei and Yuen Long and is situated at the south of Hung Shui Kiu and Yuen Long. There are mid-rise residential buildings, village houses, and warehouses surrounding the Project. An industrial zone at San Hi Tsuen is located immediate next to the Project. The prevailing noise climate in the assessment area is dominated by the existing traffic noise from Yuen Long Highway and industrial noise from the industrial zone at San Hi Tsuen.

4.4 Noise Sensitive Receivers

4.4.1 In accordance with Annex 13 of the EIAO-TM, any domestic premises, temporary housing accommodation, hostels, convalescent homes, homes for the aged, educational institutions (including kindergarten and nurseries), places of public worship, courts of law, hospitals, medical clinics, and any other premises or places that are considered by the Director to have similar sensitivity to noise as the above are identified as NSRs.

4.4.2 The assessment area for noise impact assessment of the Project is defined as 300 m away from the Project works boundary in accordance with Clause 2.2.1(a) and 3.2.1(a) in Appendix C of the Project EIA Study Brief and is presented in Figure 4.1. The representative NSRs within the assessment area for noise impact assessments of the construction and operation phases were identified based on review of latest information from Planning Department, Lands Department, reports of potential concurrent projects, and findings from site visits.

4.4.3 In order to evaluate the noise impacts during construction and operation phases associated with the Project, representative existing/committed/planned NSRs located within the assessment area were identified for assessment. Only the first layer of NSRs has been identified for assessment because it would provide acoustic shielding to those receivers at further distance behind.

4.4.4 Based on the Preliminary Environmental Review (PER) Report for “Site Formation and Infrastructure Works for Public Housing Development near Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long”, there would be a proposed school near Tan Kwai Tsuen. With the consideration of the presence of the Project, the proposed mitigation measures recommended in the PER including adjust the orientation of the opening windows, building setback, and fixed windows with mechanical ventilation for the proposed school within the planned Tan Kwai Tsuen Public Housing Development to mitigate the potential road traffic noise impact. In light of this, noise assessment point would not be assigned at the proposed school and assess again in this noise impact assessment.

4.4.5 The representative NSRs selected for construction noise and operational road traffic noise impact assessment were presented in Table 4.3 and Table 4.4 respectively. Locations of the representative NSRs for construction phase and operation phase are shown in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3 respectively, and photographs of the existing representative NSRs, which were taken during site survey dated on 25 November 2022 and 1 December 2022, is provided in Appendix 4.1.

Table 4.3 Representative Noise Sensitive Receivers (Construction Phase)

NSR ID	NSR Description	Land use	Noise Assessment Point (NAP) ID	NAP Description	No. of Storey	Floor of Selected Assessment Point ^[1]
Existing Noise Sensitive Receivers
FHT	Fuk Hang Tsuen	Residential	FHT1	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	FHT2	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	1	G/F
TYT	Tsoi Yuen Tsuen	Residential	TYT1	301 Tsoi Yuen Tsuen	1	G/F
WPST	Wo Ping San Tsuen	Residential	WPST1	145 Wo Ping San Tsuen	2	G/F, 1/F
		Residential	WPST2	Temporary Structure at Wo Ping San Tsuen	2	G/F, 1/F
TKT	Tan Kwai Tsuen	Residential	TKT1	Temporary Structure at Tan Kwai Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	TKT2	226 Tan Kwai Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	TKT3	174B Tan Kwai Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	TKT4	345 Tan Kwai Tsuen	2	G/F, 1/F
		Residential	TKT5	370 Tan Kwai Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	TKT6	392 Tan Kwai Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	TKT7	Temporary Structure at Tan Kwai Tsuen	2	G/F, 1/F
MP	Manor Parc	Residential	MP1	Manor Parc 21	4	G/F, 1/F, 3/F
CR	Casa Regalia	Residential	CR1	89 Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
BT	Buddhist Temple	Place for public worship	BT1	Buddhist Temple	2	G/F, 1/F
TTT	Tai Tao Tsuen	Residential	TTT1	40 Tai Tao Tsuen	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
		Residential	TTT2	Temporary Structure at Tai Tao Tsuen	1	G/F
		Residential	TTT3	Temporary Structure at Tai Tao Tsuen	1	G/F
UT	Uptown	Education	UT1	Agnes Wise Kindergarten	2	G/F, 1/F
		Residential	UT2	Uptown Tower 3	19	1/F, 10/F, 19/F
		Residential	UT3^[4]	Uptown House 30	4	1/F, 2/F, 3/F
		Residential	UT5	Uptown Tower 8	19	1/F, 10/F, 19/F
LR	Le Regent	Residential	LR1	146 Tai Tao Tsuen	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
FSW	Fui Sha Wai	Residential	FSW2	191 Fui Sha Wai	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
		Residential	FSW3	177 Fui Sha Wai	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
		Residential	FSW4	Temporary Structure at Fui Sha Wai	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
PV	Park Villa	Residential	PV1	Park Villa 35	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
		Residential	PV3	Park Villa 33	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
		Residential	PV4	Park Villa 20	3	G/F, 1/F, 2/F
TYST	Tong Yan San Tsuen	Residential	TYST1	2 Sha Tseng Road	2	G/F, 1/F
STT	Sha Tseng Tsuen	Residential	STT1	Temporary Structure at Sha Tseng Tsuen	2	G/F, 1/F
TE	The Eldorado	Residential	TE1	The Eldorado Block 8	4	G/F, 1/F, 3/F
		Residential	TE2	The Eldorado Block 9	4	G/F, 1/F, 3/F
JC	Jasper Court	Residential	JC1	Jasper Court Block 1	4	G/F, 1/F, 3/F
		Residential	JC3	Jasper Court Block 10	4	G/F, 1/F, 3/F
PSV	Parkside Villa	Residential	PSV1	Parkside Villa Block 1	11	1/F, 2/F, 11/F
Planned Noise Sensitive Receivers
TKTPH^[^2]	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	Residential	TKTPH3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60	1/F, 30/F, 60/F
		Residential	TKTPH14	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60	1/F, 30/F, 60/F
		Education	N/A	Proposed School	7	N/A
LB^[^3]	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	Education	LB01	Proposed School	7	1/F, 3/F, 7/F
		Residential	LB03	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	49	1/F, 24/F, 49/F
		Residential	LB04	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	51	1/F, 25/F, 51/F

Note:

[1] Bolded floor levels indicate the floor closest to the construction work zones. The selected floors were considered as representative floors for the NAP in the assessment.

[2] According to the technical reports for Section 16 Planning Application to be submitted to Planning Department, the tentative first population intake for Tan Kwai Tsuen Public Housing Development is Year 2030.

[3] According to the Preliminary Environmental Review Report for ‘Site Formation and Infrastructure Works for Public Housing Developments at Long Bin, Yuen Long – Investigation, Design and Construction’, the tentative first population intake year for Phase 2 for Long Bin Public Housing Development is Year 2029 - Year 2031.

[4] Ground floor of UT3 is a carpark which is regarded as a noise tolerant use. It is, therefore, not assessed in this noise impact assessment.

Table 4.4 Representative Noise Sensitive Receivers (Operational Phase)

NSR ID	NSR Description	Land use	Noise Assessment Point (NAP) ID	NAP Description	No. of Noise Sensitive Storey
Existing Noise Sensitive Receivers
FHT	Fuk Hang Tsuen	Residential	FHT1	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	1
		Residential	FHT2	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	1
WPST	Wo Ping San Tsuen	Residential	WPST1	145 Wo Ping San Tsuen	2
		Residential	WPST2	Temporary Structure at Wo Ping San Tsuen	2
TKT	Tan Kwai Tsuen	Residential	TKT3	174B Tan Kwai Tsuen	1
		Residential	TKT4	345 Tan Kwai Tsuen	2
		Residential	TKT5	370 Tan Kwai Tsuen	1
		Residential	TKT6	392 Tan Kwai Tsuen	1
MP	Manor Parc	Residential	MP1	Manor Parc 21	4
CR	Casa Regalia	Residential	CR1	89 Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	3
		Residential	CR2	85C Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	3
		Residential	CR3	83B Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	3
BT	Buddhist Temple	Place for public worship	BT1	Buddhist Temple	2
TTT	Tai Tao Tsuen	Residential	TTT1	40 Tai Tao Tsuen	2
		Residential	TTT2	Temporary Structure at Tai Tao Tsuen	1
UT	Uptown	Education	UT1	Agnes Wise Kindergarten	2
		Residential	UT2	Uptown Tower 3	19
		Residential	UT3^[7]	Uptown House 30	3
		Residential	UT4^[7]	Uptown House 38	3
		Residential	UT5	Uptown Tower 8	19
LR	Le Regent	Residential	LR1	146 Tai Tao Tsuen	3
		Residential	LR2	143 Tai Tao Tsuen	3
		Residential	LR3	143 Tai Tao Tsuen	3
FSW	Fui Sha Wai	Residential	FSW1	176A Fui Sha Wai	3
		Residential	FSW2	191 Fui Sha Wai	3
PV	Park Villa	Residential	PV1	Park Villa 35	3
		Residential	PV2	Park Villa 33	3
		Residential	PV3	Park Villa 33	3
		Residential	PV4	Park Villa 20	3
TYST	Tong Yan San Tsuen	Residential	TYST1	2 Sha Tseng Road	2
STT	Sha Tseng Tsuen	Residential	STT1	Temporary Structure at Sha Tseng Tsuen	2
TE	The Eldorado	Residential	TE1	The Eldorado Block 8	4
		Residential	TE2	The Eldorado Block 9	4
JC	Jasper Court	Residential	JC1	Jasper Court Block 1	4
		Residential	JC2	Jasper Court Block 2	4
		Residential	JC3	Jasper Court Block 10	4
PSV	Parkside Villa	Residential	PSV1	Parkside Villa Block 1	11
LHY	Lam Hau Yuen	Residential	LHY1	Temporary Structure at Lam Hau Yuen	2
Planned Noise Sensitive Receivers
PSS^[^1]	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	Residential	PSS1	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	38
		Residential	PSS2	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	38
		Residential	PSS3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	38
		Residential	PSS4	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	38
		Residential	PSS5	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	40
		Residential	PSS6	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	40
		Residential	PSS7	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	40
		Residential	PSS8	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	40
		Residential	PSS9	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	40
		Residential	PSS10	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	40
		Residential	PSS11	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	44
		Residential	PSS12	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	44
		Residential	PSS13	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	44
TKTPH^[^2]	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	Residential	TKTPH1	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH2	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH4	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH5	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH6	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH7	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH8	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH9	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH10	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH11	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH12	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH13	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH14	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH15	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Residential	TKTPH16	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	60
		Education	N/A	Proposed School	7
LB^[^3]	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	Education	LB01	Proposed School	7
		Residential	LB02	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	47
		Residential	LB03	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	47
		Residential	LB04	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	45
LTN^[^4]	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	Residential	LTN1	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37
		Residential	LTN2	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37
		Residential	LTN3	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37
		Residential	LTN4	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37
YL1314^[5]	Yuen Long Areas 13 and 14	GIC	YL1314_1	Site I of Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14	8
		Residential	YL1314_2	Site A of Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14	25
YLS^[^6]	Yuen Long South Development	Residential	YLS1	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	12
		Residential	YLS2	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	12
		Residential	YLS3	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	12

Note:

[1] Information regarding layout and building height were extracted from the Preliminary Environmental Review Report for Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South.

[2] Information regarding layout and building height were extracted from the technical reports for Section 16 Planning Application to be submitted to Planning Department and OZP Plan no. S/YL-TYST/14.

[3] Information regarding layout and building height were extracted from the Preliminary Environmental Review Report for Proposed Public Housing Development at Long Bin and OZP Plan no. S/YL-TYST/14.

[4] Information regarding layout and building height were extracted from the Preliminary Environmental Review Report for Proposed Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North.

[5] Since no information is available, building height was estimated from the OZP Plan no. S/YL/26.

[6] Information regarding layout and building height was extracted from the approved EIA on "Housing Sites at Yuen Long South (EIA-254/2017).

[7] Ground floor of UT3 and UT4 is a carpark which is regarded as noise tolerant use. It is, therefore, not assessed in this noise impact assessment.

4.5 Identification of Environmental Impacts

Construction Phase

4.5.1 Potential source of noise impact during construction phase of the Project would be the use of PME for construction activities. The key construction activities would be site clearance and formation, earthworks, slopworks, drainage works, piling or foundation works, construction of viaducts, at-grade roads, and retaining structures within the Project Boundary.

4.5.2 Based on the proposed construction method presented in Chapter 2, the Project construction activities are expected to be carried out during non-restricted hours (0700 to 1900, Monday to Saturday). No percussive piling works will be required within the project boundary.

4.5.3 The construction of the Project is anticipated to commence in Year 2028 and be completed in Year 2032. The tentative construction programme for the Project is provided in Appendix 3.1. Potential concurrent projects within the 300m Study Area and their respective tentative construction period are listed in Table 4.5. The locations of the potential concurrent projects are shown in Figure 4.4.

Table 4.5 List of Potential Concurrent Projects

No	Potential Concurrent Projects	Tentative construction period
1	Environmentally Friendly Transport Services in Hung Shui Kiu / Ha Tsuen New Development Area and Adjacent Areas	Phase 1: Year 2027 - 2030/31 Phase 2: Year 2032 - 2036 Phase 3: Year 2034 - 2038
2	Route 11 (Section between Yuen Long and Lantau)	No later than Year 2033
3	Site Formation and Infrastructure Works for Public Housing Developments at Long Bin, Yuen Long	Year 2020 - 2026
4	Site Formation and Infrastructure Works for Public Housing Development near Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	Year 2022 - 2027
5	Yuen Long South Development	Year 2022 - 2038
6	Hung Shui Kiu / Ha Tsuen New Development Area	Year 2020 - 2038
7	Potential Sites in Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14 for Housing Development	Year 2025 - 2032

4.5.4 As shown in Appendix 3.1, the tentative construction period will be Year 2028 – 2032. There will be no overlapping construction period between this Project and potential concurrent projects no. 3 and 4. Cumulative construction noise impact between this Project and the two projects is not anticipated.

4.5.5 The potential concurrent projects no. 1, 5 and 6 cover a substantial amount area and long construction period such that the Contractor this Project shall closely liaise with the corresponding parties of these three potential concurrent projects to schedule and arrange works being carried out concurrently at the same interfacing areas flexibly and efficiently. Hence, cumulative construction noise impact from these two projects is controlled and minimized.

4.5.6 For the remaining potential concurrent projects (No. 2, and 7), liaison between the Contractor this Project and the corresponding parties of these three potential concurrent projects shall be carried out to minimize works to be completed concurrently at the same interfacing areas. Cumulative construction noise impact shall be assessed in the Construction Noise Management Plan (CNMP), which includes quantitative construction noise impact assessment, noise mitigation measures, and noise monitoring and auditing programme.

Operation Phase

4.5.7 Road traffic noise from the road network within the Study Area, including both the “Project roads” and the “Existing roads”, would be the major noise source during the operation phase. "Project roads" refers to the roads that are completely new or are substantially altered by the proposed project. All road sections other than the “Project roads” as defined above are regarded as “Existing roads” in the assessment. The extent of “Project roads” is presented in Figure 4.5.

4.5.8 As listed in Table 4.5, potential concurrent projects have been identified. Cumulative operation noise impact arisen from the potential concurrent projects was considered in this study.

4.6 Assessment Methodology

Construction Phase

4.6.1 In accordance with the requirements given in the Study Brief, construction noise impact was assessed qualitatively. The general approach is summarized below:

· Locate the representative NSRs which will most likely be affected by noise from the construction work;

· Determine the items of PME for each discrete construction activity, based on available information or agreed plant inventories;

· Assign sound power levels (SWLs) to the proposed PME according to GW-TM or other recognized sources of reference, where appropriate;

· Identify the major noise sources and construction activities;

· Propose suitable mitigation measures such as quieter construction method and equipment, barrier, enclosures, etc; and

· Propose to submit a Construction Noise Management Plan (CNMP), which contains quantitative construction noise impact assessment, to EPD.

4.6.2 The tentative construction programme is presented in Appendix 3.1 and the plant inventory, which has been confirmed by the Project Engineer to be practical and suitable for the proposed works, is presented in Appendix 4.2. The sound power level (SWL) of each construction activity in the plant inventory was calculated with reference to the plant in Table 3 of GW-TM or “Sound power levels of other commonly used PME" (Other PME) published by EPD, types and quantity of the plant, SWL of plant, and percentage utilization rate per 30-minute interval.

4.6.3 Upon identifying the major noise sources and activities, quieter construction method and equipment, barrier, and enclosure is proposed to mitigate construction noise impact.

4.6.4 The CNMP, which shall be prepared before tender invitation and before commencement of construction of the Project, will contain an updated quantitative construction noise impact assessment, direct mitigation measures, quieter construction methods, and construction noise impact monitoring and auditing program.

Operation Phase

4.6.5 Road traffic noise was predicted based on traffic flow, following strictly the procedures stipulated in the “Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN)” (1998) published by Department of Transport, UK and EIAO Guidance Note No. 12/2010. The modelling methodology has been agreed by EPD. Road traffic noise was presented in terms of noise levels exceeded for 10% of the one-hour period having the peak traffic flow (i.e., L₁₀, 1-hour, dB(A)). A 2.5 dB(A) façade reflection and correction factors for effects due to gradient, distance, view angle, road surface, and barriers were included in the assessment.

4.6.6 Traffic noise was predicted based on the worst-case year traffic forecast within 15 years upon commencement of operation of the proposed roadworks according to Appendix C of the EIA Study Brief and Section 5.1 in Annex 13 of the EIAO-TM. Based on the latest Project programme, the Project is expected to be in operation in Year 2033. The assessment year for road traffic noise was taken as Year 2048 which is the maximum traffic projection within 15 years after full operation of the proposed roadwork. The peak traffic flow for “with Project” scenario in Year 2048 and prevailing scenario in Year 2028 are presented in Appendix 4.3. The traffic forecast for this Study was prepared by Traffic Consultants, strictly following the methodology endorsed by the Transport Department. The endorsement letter is presented in Appendix 4.3.

4.6.7 Road traffic noise in the following four scenarios was evaluated:

· Unmitigated scenario in Year 2048;

· Mitigated scenario in Year 2048; and

· Prevailing scenario in Year 2028 for indirect mitigated measures eligibility assessment;

4.6.8 Under the scope of this Project, road sections were classified as the following categories for the purpose of the road traffic noise assessment:

· “Project” roads which in the context of this report describe all roads that are completely new or are substantially altered by the proposed project. In this Project, the sections of the Yuen Long Highway to be widened and the slip road from Hung Tin Road (south bound) to Yuen Long Highway (east bound) were identified as new roads. All road sections defined in the scope of designated project stipulated in the EIAO are considered as “Project Roads”.

· “Existing” Roads which are unchanged or without significant traffic noise impact (i.e., the traffic noise level with the road project would be less than that without the road project at the design year by 1.0 dB(A).

4.6.9 For the purpose of the traffic noise assessment in the EIA study, the roads within 300m from the proposed Project boundary were included in the assessment. Road sections included in the assessment and the extent of Project roads are presented in Figure 4.5. Agreement on the road sections has been obtained from EPD in accordance with Appendix C, Clause 3.2.2(a) of the EIA Study Brief. The characteristics of the road network such as road width, surface type and traffic flow and the use of LNRS, the existing and committed noise mitigation measures was considered in the assessment. Noise mitigation measures proposed from the environmental assessments of the potential concurrent projects was considered during the assessment for this Project. The locations of existing and committed noise mitigation measures (including noise barriers and enclosures) are presented in Figure 4.6.

4.6.10 In accordance with HyD Guidance Notes on Road Surface Requirements for Expressways and High Speed Road (RD/GN/032A), highly modified friction course (HMFC) is proposed as the standard surfacing material on the road sections with design speed of 80km/h or above without traffic lights and classified as trunk road/high speed road. HMFC would therefore be provided on the Project Road with the design speed of 80km/h or above. The extent of road section with HMFC is presented in Figure 4.7.

4.6.11 Direct mitigation measures would be proposed for Project roads if adverse environmental impact is predicted.  If the NSRs are affected by noise from existing roads, direct mitigation measures are required to reduce the noise from the Project roads to a level that it:

· is not higher than the noise standard; and

· has no significant contribution (less than 1.0 dB(A)) to the cumulative noise level, if the overall noise level (i.e., noise from the new roads together with other existing roads) exceeds the noise standard.

4.6.12 If any façades of NSRs were still exposed to predicted noise levels exceeding the relevant noise criteria after the implementation of all direct mitigation measures, provision of indirect technical remedies in the form of window insulation and air conditioning should be considered under the EIAO-TM.  The eligibility for indirect technical remedies would be tested against the following three criteria:

· the predicted overall noise level, L₁₀ (1-hour), from the Project Roads, together with other traffic noise in the vicinity must be above a respective noise level (for example, 70 dB(A) for domestic premises and 65 dB(A) for educational institutions.);

· the predicted overall noise level is at least 1.0 dB(A) more than the prevailing traffic noise level; and

· the contribution to the increase in the predicted overall noise level from the Project Roads must be at least 1.0 dB(A).

4.6.13 Referring to the environmental permit (EP) of Deep Bay Link (EP-163/2003/H) and the EP of Widening of Yuen Long Highway between Tan Kwai Tsuen and Shap Pat Heung Interchange (EP-141/2002/A), the existing noise mitigation measures covered in the two EPs will need to be removed for the purpose of this Project. In general, the future Contractor of this Project is not allowed to remove any existing noise barriers until either permanent noise barriers or temporary noise barriers are in place which would not cause any adverse noise impact to the NSRs.

4.7 Prediction and Evaluation of Environmental Impacts

Construction Noise

4.7.1 Potential construction noise impact would arise from the use of PME during construction work of the Project. No percussive piling work is proposed for this project.

4.7.2 Cut or fill slope will be required for the formation of available land for road widening works and utilities diversion works. Foundation works for retaining structure or piling for the bridge structure is necessary for the road widening works. The substructures of the bridge structures will take the form of in-situ piles or pre-bored H piles and pile caps. For bridge superstructures, conventional in-situ bridge construction on formwork and falsework with appropriate temporary traffic management will be adopted. If there is site constraint, precast segmental bridge deck will be used.

4.7.3 The noise barrier will either be supported on shallow foundation or on piles. The supporting frame for noise barriers will be in form of structural steel. The noise panel is prefabricated and erected on site, with appropriate temporary traffic management on high-speed road.

4.7.4 A construction noise management plan (CNMP) would be required to submit to the Director of the EPD. The CNMP will contain quantitative construction noise impact assessment, adopted quieter construction method and equipment, noise mitigation measures, and construction noise monitoring and auditing programme, with reference to the updated and identified noise mitigation measures once available and in any case before the tender invitation if there is any change to the construction noise mitigation measures recommended in this EIA report and before the commencement of construction of this Project. Any technical constraint that would hinder the use of these quieter construction method and equipment shall be evaluated and clearly recorded in the assessment.

Operation Phase Road Traffic Noise

4.7.5 Road traffic noise assessment has been conducted for the representative NSRs in the worst-case year 2048. The predicted traffic noise levels at the representative NSRs under the unmitigated scenario are presented in Table 4.6. The predicted noise levels are described in the table in accordance with the locations and properties of the representative NSRs. Appendix 4.4 shows the details of the noise assessment results of each assessment points of the NSRs at different assessment levels under unmitigated scenario.

Table 4.6 Summary of Predicted Road Traffic Noise Assessment Results under Unmitigated Scenario (Year 2048)

NSR ID	NSR Description	Land use	Noise Assessment Point (NAP) ID ^[1]	NAP Description	Assessment Height, mPD	Criterion, dB(A)	Overall Noise Level, dB(A)^[2][3]	Project Road, dB(A)^[2][3][4]	Existing Road, dB(A)^[2][3][4]	Maximum Project Road Contribution when Overall Noise Level Exceeded Criteria, dB(A)^[2][3][5]	Whether Noise Mitigation Measures on Project Roads are Required or Not
Existing Representative NSRs
FHT	Fuk Hang Tsuen	Residential	FHT1	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	27.4	70	67	41	67	-	No
		Residential	FHT2	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	28.0	70	70	-	70	-	No
WPST	Wo Ping San Tsuen	Residential	WPST1	145 Wo Ping San Tsuen	17.6 – 20.2	70	72	48 - 49	72	0.0	No
		Residential	WPST2	Temporary Structure at Wo Ping San Tsuen	15.3 – 17.5	70	63 - 64	55	62 - 63	-	No
TKT	Tan Kwai Tsuen	Residential	TKT3	174B Tan Kwai Tsuen	32.9	70	67	66	62	-	No
		Residential	TKT4	345 Tan Kwai Tsuen	21.3 – 23.3	70	63	60 - 61	58 - 59	-	No
		Residential	TKT5	370 Tan Kwai Tsuen	37.2	70	69	68	64	-	No
		Residential	TKT6	392 Tan Kwai Tsuen	35.6	70	67	65	63	-	No
MP	Manor Parc	Residential	MP1	Manor Parc 21	25.7 – 36.5	70	64 - 66	60 - 62	62 - 63	-	No
CR	Casa Regalia	Residential	CR1	89 Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	27.1 – 34.5	70	65 - 66	59 - 60	64	-	No
			CR2	85C Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	26.4 – 33.8	70	63 - 64	59 - 60	60 - 62	-	No
			CR3	83B Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	25.5 – 32.9	70	62 - 64	60 - 61	59 - 61	-	No
BT	Buddhist Temple	Place for public worship	BT1	Buddhist Temple	22.7 – 26.9	65	59 - 61	57 - 59	56 - 57	-	No
TTT	Tai Tao Tsuen	Residential	TTT1	40 Tai Tao Tsuen	16.5 – 24.5	70	71 - 73	45 - 48	71 - 73	0.0	No
		Residential	TTT2	Temporary Structure at Tai Tao Tsuen	21.8	70	60	59	54	-	No
UT	Uptown	Education	UT1	Agnes Wise Kindergarten	11.9 – 15.9	65	75 - 76	52 - 53	75 - 76	0.0	No
		Residential	UT2	Uptown Tower 3	22.5 – 76.5	70	79 - 81	62 - 64	79 - 81	0.1	No
		Residential	UT3	Uptown House 30	16.7 – 22.7	70	76 - 79	50 - 56	76 - 79	0.0	No
		Residential	UT4	Uptown House 38	16.7 – 22.7	70	60 - 63	53 - 56	59 - 62	-	No
		Residential	UT5	Uptown Tower 8	22.5 – 76.5	70	66 - 76	58 - 69	65 - 75	1.3	Yes
LR	Le Regent	Residential	LR1	146 Tai Tao Tsuen	11.5 – 16.9	70	62 - 67	52 - 60	62 - 66	-	No
		Residential	LR2	143 Tai Tao Tsuen	11.5 – 16.9	70	70 - 73	63 - 66	69 - 72	1.1	Yes
		Residential	LR3	143 Tai Tao Tsuen	11.5 – 16.9	70	70 - 73	64 - 67	69 - 71	1.5	Yes
FSW	Fui Sha Wai	Residential	FSW1	176A Fui Sha Wai	12.2 – 17.6	70	61 - 64	56 - 58	59 - 62	-	No
		Residential	FSW2	191 Fui Sha Wai	10.6 – 16.0	70	63 - 65	60 - 62	60 - 63	-	No
PV	Park Villa	Residential	PV1	Park Villa 35	20.2 – 27.8	70	66 - 70	55 - 59	66 - 69	-	No
		Residential	PV2	Park Villa 33	20.2 – 27.8	70	66 - 72	55 - 60	66 - 72	0.4	No
		Residential	PV3	Park Villa 33	20.2 – 27.8	70	68 - 73	53 - 59	68 - 73	0.2	No
		Residential	PV4	Park Villa 20	23.5 – 31.1	70	70 - 71	-	70 - 71	0.0	No
TYST	Tong Yan San Tsuen	Residential	TYST1	2 Sha Tseng Road	21.7 – 24.7	70	76	52 - 54	76	0.1	No
STT	Sha Tseng Tsuen	Residential	STT1	Temporary Structure at Sha Tseng Tsuen	14.2 – 16.2	70	71	49 - 50	71	0.0	No
TE	The Eldorado	Residential	TE1	The Eldorado Block 8	17.2 – 26.5	70	66 - 68	49 - 51	66 - 68	-	No
		Residential	TE2	The Eldorado Block 9	17.2 – 26.5	70	59 - 64	-	59 - 64	-	No
JC	Jasper Court	Residential	JC1	Jasper Court Block 1	17.6 – 29.6	70	74 - 77	48 - 56	74 - 76	0.1	No
		Residential	JC2	Jasper Court Block 2	16.3 – 28.3	70	69 - 76	47 - 58	68 - 76	0.1	No
		Residential	JC3	Jasper Court Block 10	15.7 – 27.7	70	68 - 79	-	68 - 79	0.0	No
PSV	Parkside Villa	Residential	PSV1	Parkside Villa Block 1	12.6 – 42.6	70	73 - 74	-	73 - 74	0.0	No
Planned NSRs
PSS	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	Residential	PSS1	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	76 - 78	75 - 77	71 - 73	5.7	Yes
		Residential	PSS2	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	76 - 79	76 - 78	65 - 67	11.9	Yes
		Residential	PSS3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	77 - 79	76 - 78	70 - 71	7.4	Yes
		Residential	PSS4	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	77 - 79	76 - 79	64 - 66	13.5	Yes
		Residential	PSS5	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	25.7 – 134.9	70	65 - 74	55 - 67	64 - 73	0.9	No
		Residential	PSS6	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	25.7 – 134.9	70	64 - 75	54 - 69	63 - 73	1.4	Yes
		Residential	PSS7	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	25.7 – 134.9	70	48 - 68	47 - 67	40 - 56	-	No
		Residential	PSS8	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	28.7 – 137.9	70	55 - 70	47 - 67	54 - 67	-	No
		Residential	PSS9	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	28.7 – 137.9	70	61 - 73	47 - 68	60 - 71	1.6	Yes
		Residential	PSS10	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	28.7 – 137.9	70	53 - 67	48 - 66	51 - 57	-	No
		Residential	PSS11	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	34.2 – 158.6	70	54 - 70	51 - 67	50 - 67	-	No
		Residential	PSS12	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	34.2 – 158.6	70	63 - 72	53 - 68	63 - 70	2.1	Yes
		Residential	PSS13	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	34.2 – 158.6	70	59 - 65	53 - 64	57	-	No
TKTPH	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	Residential	TKTPH1	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	55 - 75	54 - 73	51 - 69	5.7	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH2	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	54 - 74	51 - 72	50 - 69	5.3	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	55 - 77	51 - 76	53 - 71	7.0	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH4	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	60 - 74	52 - 73	60 - 67	10.1	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH5	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	59 - 75	54 - 74	58 - 67	10.8	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH6	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	53 - 70	50 - 67	49 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH7	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 69	48 - 65	49 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH8	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	61 - 70	49 - 66	60 - 68	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH9	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	61 - 70	51 - 69	61 - 63	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH10	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	61 - 71	52 - 70	60 - 63	8.8	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH11	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	62 - 72	53 - 71	62 - 66	6.9	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH12	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	54 - 73	51 - 70	50 - 69	3.8	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH13	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 71	48 - 68	50 - 69	2.8	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH14	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 73	48 - 71	49 - 69	4.5	Yes
		Residential	TKTPH15	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 69	48 - 68	49 - 58	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH16	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	53 - 70	51 - 69	48 - 62	-	No
LB	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	Education	LB01	Proposed School	9.2 – 26.6	65	73 - 74	-	73 - 74	0.0	No
		Residential	LB02	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	28.2 – 152.4	70	72 - 74	-	72 - 74	0.0	No
		Residential	LB03	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	28.2 – 152.4	70	71 - 73	-	71 - 73	0.0	No
		Residential	LB04	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	36.2 – 155.0	70	73 - 75	-	73 - 75	0.0	No
LTN	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	Residential	LTN1	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	35.2 – 136.0	70	72 - 75	53 - 60	72 - 75	0.2	No
		Residential	LTN2	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	35.2 – 136.0	70	68 - 74	53 - 59	68 - 74	0.2	No
		Residential	LTN3	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37.7 – 138.5	70	65 - 74	40 - 44	65 - 74	0.1	No
		Residential	LTN4	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37.7 – 138.5	70	76 - 80	-	76 - 80	0.0	No
YLS1314	Yuen Long Areas 13 and 14	GIC	YL1314_1	Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14	7.7 – 28.7	70	76 - 78	-	76 - 78	0.0	No
		Residential	YL1314_2	Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14	7.7 – 74.9	70	74 - 78	-	74 - 78	0.0	No
YLS	Yuen Long South Development	Residential	YLS1	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	36.5 – 70.6	70	68 - 70	-	68 - 70	-	No
			YLS2	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	36.5 – 70.6	70	70 - 72	40	70 - 72	0.0	No
			YLS3	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	30.5 – 64.6	70	71 - 72	-	71 - 72	0.0	No

Note:

[1] The assessment only included NSRs which relied on openable windows for ventilation.

[2] Values bolded and underlined indicate exceedance to the relevant noise criterion.

[3] Noise levels were rounded up to nearest integer to determine the compliance of the criteria.

[4] Noise level below 40 dB(A) would be considered negligible and hence not shown in the table and presented as “-“.

[5] “-”: Predicted overall noise level complied with the noise criterion under unmitigated scenario.

4.7.6 Referring to Table 4.6 and Appendix 4.4, the predicted noise levels at the representative NSRs are in the range of 49 dB(A) to 81 dB(A) respectively. Representative NSRs exceed the noise criteria by up to 11 dB(A). Hence, direct mitigation measures should be considered to alleviate the adverse traffic noise impact according to Section 4.6.11.

Traffic Noise Impact during Interim Period

4.7.7 With reference to the EP of Deep Bay Link (EP-163/2003/H) and the EP of Widening of Yuen Long Highway between Tan Kwai Tsuen and Shap Pat Heung Interchange (EP-141/2002/A), the existing noise mitigation measures covered in the two EPs will need to be removed temporarily and reprovisioned in order to widen the existing YLH. According to Section 4.6.13, the existing noise barriers will be demolished only after the erection of permanent or temporary noise barrier and connected to the existing ones seamlessly. In view that there will not be any gaps between the permanent or temporary noise barriers and the existing noise barriers, “sound leak” will be minimized. Thus, adverse traffic noise impact during the Interim Period is not anticipated.

4.8 Mitigation of Environmental Impacts

Construction Noise

4.8.1 In order to reduce the excessive construction noise impact at the NSRs, mitigation measures such as good site practices, adopting quieter construction method and PME, erection of movable noise barriers and temporary noise barriers was recommended. The Contractor(s) may be able to obtain particular models of plant that are quieter than the PMEs given in GW-TM. It is considered too restrictive to specify that a Contractor has to use specific items of plant for the construction operations. It is practical to specify the total SWL of all plant to be used on site so that the Contractor has the flexibility to select plant to suit his needs.

4.8.2 Although the noise mitigation effects are not easily quantifiable and the benefits may vary with site conditions and operating conditions, good site practices would be easily implemented and do not impact upon the works schedule. The good site practices listed below would be followed during construction works:

· Only well-maintained plant would be operated on-site and would be serviced regularly during the construction period;

· Silencers or mufflers on construction equipment would be utilized and properly maintained during the construction period as practicable;

· Mobile PME would be sited as far from NSRs as possible;

· PME (such as trucks) that may be in intermittent use would be shut down between work periods or would be throttled down to minimum;

· PME know to emit noise strongly in one direction would, whenever possible, be oriented so that the noise is directed away from the nearby NSRs; and

· Materials stockpiles and other structures would be effectively utilized, wherever practicable, in screening noise from on-site construction activities.

4.8.3 The use of quieter construction methods is listed on EPD’s website whilst the Quality PME associated with the construction works is prescribed in EPD’s Quality Powered Mechanical Equipment (QPME) database. The website and database respectively contain the SWLs or SPLs for alternative quieter construction method and quality/quiet PME of various types, brands and models. The SWLs for quieter construction method and quality PMEs adopted for construction noise assessment are listed in Appendix 4.5.

4.8.4 To mitigate construction noise impact on the affected NSRs, movable temporary noise barriers was proposed for lorry, excavator, breaker (hand-held, mass > 10 kg and < 20 kg), dump truck, asphalt paver, road roller, paint line marker, poker (vibratory, hand-held), crane (mobile / barge mounted, diesel), bar bender and cutter (electric). Movable temporary noise barriers that can be located close to noisy plant and be moved iteratively with the plant along a worksite can be very effective for screening noise from NSRs. A typical design which has been used locally is a wooden framed barrier with a small cantilevered upper portion of superficial density no less than 14kg/m² on a skid footing with 25mm thick internal sound absorptive lining. A typical configuration of noise barrier and portable noise enclosure is shown in Appendix 4.6. This measure is particularly effective for low level zone of NSRs. A cantilevered top cover would be required to achieve screening benefits at upper floors of NSRs. It was anticipated that suitably designed barriers could achieve at least 5 - 10 dB(A) reduction.

4.8.5 The use of a full enclosure was considered in this assessment to shelter relatively static plant including concrete pump, air compressor, generator, and drill rig. This type of enclosure is expected to provide approximately 15 dB(A) noise reduction.

4.8.6 The quieter type blade saw was as an alternative for traditional saw which generates high noise level. The quieter type blade saw with higher speed and smoother blade reduces the excitation of vibration and hence the propagation of sound.

4.8.7 Quieter construction method such as using self-compacting concrete for concreting work was considered to minimise the use of vibratory poker for concreting works and silent piling by Press-in method was proposed as an alternative of traditional sheet piling. A sheet pile is clipped and pressed under the ground. Noise can be minimized by press-in sheet piles with drilling simultaneously for piling works at harder ground. The noise impact can also be further reduced as the piling works can be completed within the shorter duration by using this method. Specific reasons for not adopting certain direct mitigation measures to maximise the protection for the NSRs as far as possible should be clearly substantiated and documented in the CNMP.

Operation Phase Road Traffic Noise

4.8.8 As stated in Section 4.6.10, in accordance with HyD Guidance Notes on Road Surface Requirements for Expressways and High Speed Road (RD/GN/032A), highly modified friction course (HMFC) is proposed as the standard surfacing material on the road sections with design speed of 80km/h or above without traffic lights and classified as trunk road/high speed road. HMFC would therefore be provided on the Project Road with the design speed of 80km/h or above. The extent of road section with HMFC is presented in Figure 4.7.

4.8.9 Direct noise mitigation measures would be provided as far as practicable until the mitigated overall noise levels comply with the relevant standards or the mitigated noise levels from the Project roads does not exceed the relevant standards and does not contribute to the overall noise levels by 1.0 dB(A) or more. Hence, direct noise mitigation measures as listed below are considered to alleviate adverse traffic noise impact on the affected NSRs.

· Installation of acoustic windows at planned residential developments;

· LNRS on Project road sections; and

· Vertical noise barriers and cantilevered noise barriers;

4.8.10 As agreed with the Housing Department (HD), at-receiver mitigation measures (i.e., installation of acoustic windows) would be provided at the proposed public housing development at Ping Shan South (PSS) and Tan Kwai Tsuen (TKT). The noise attenuation level for the acoustic window to be installed at PSS and TKT was assumed to be 6 dB(A) and 4 dB(A) respectively. The actual floors requiring installation of acoustic windows and their noise attenuation level would be subject to HD’s further studies.

4.8.11 The details of proposed LNRS and noise barriers or noise barriers to be upgraded are summarized in Table 4.7, Table 4.8, and Table 4.9 with total length of mitigation measures rounded off to the nearest 10 m. The locations of the proposed or upgraded noise barriers and the extent of LNRS are to be the most effective within the project as shown in Figure 4.8, Figure 4.8a and Figure 4.8b. All proposed noise mitigation measures are within Project Road extent. Cross sections of the proposed mitigation measures are presented in Figure 4.9. All the proposed barriers shall be designed and constructed to comply with the “Guidelines on Design of Noise Barriers” which is jointly published by the Environmental Protection Department and Highways Department.

Table 4.7 Extent and Locations of Proposed Low Noise Road Surfacing

ID	Location	Approximate Length, m	Figure
LNRS1	Slip Road from Hung Tin Road (South Bound) to Yuen Long Highway (East Bound)	570	Figure 4.8a

Table 4.8 Extent and Locations of Proposed Noise Barriers

ID	Barrier Type	Height	Approximate Length, m	Figure
N1	Vertical Barrier	3m	150	Figure 4.8a
N2	Y-shape Cantilever Barrier	8m high with 4m cantilever at 45^o	300	Figure 4.8b

Table 4.9 Extent and Locations of Noise Barriers to be upgraded

ID	Existing Barrier Type	Concerned EP	Upgraded Barrier Type	Approximate Length, m	Figure
N3	5m Vertical Barrier and 5.5m Vertical Barrier with 2.5m cantilever at 45^o	EP-141/2002/A and EP-163/2003/H	8m vertical barrier with 4m cantilever at 45^o	370	Figure 4.8b
N4	6m Vertical Barrier, 3m Vertical Barrier, and 5.5m high with 2.5m cantilever at 45^o	EP-141/2002/A and EP-163/2003/H	8m vertical barrier with 4m cantilever at 45^o	310	Figure 4.8b

4.8.12 Some of the existing noise barriers on the YLH will be reprovisioned due to widening works on YLH. The locations of existing noise barriers to be reprovisioned is presented in Table 4.10 and Figure 4.10.

Table 4.10 Extent and Locations of Existing Noise Barriers to be Reprovisioned

ID	Barrier Type	Concerned EP or reference EIA Report	Approximate Length, m
N5	5m Vertical Barrier	EP-141/2002/A	590
N6	5.5m high with 1.5m cantilever at 45^o	EP-141/2002/A	180
N7	4m Vertical Barrier	EP-141/2002/A	140
N8	5.5m high with 1.5m cantilever at 45^o	EP-141/2002/A	160
N9	5.5m high with 2.5m cantilever at 45^o	EP-141/2002/A	140
N10^[1]	6m Vertical Barrier	EP-141/2002/A	120
N11	5.5m high with 2.5m cantilever at 45^o	EP-163/2003/H	110
N12	5m Vertical Barrier	AEIAR-215/2017	40

Note:

[1] The current barrier type of N10 is a 4m vertical barrier. It will be reprovisioned as a 6m vertical barrier under this Project.

4.8.13 With the implementation of the recommended at-source noise mitigation measures (i.e., LNRS and noise barriers) and agreed at-receiver noise mitigation measures (i.e., acoustic window), the noise levels at some of the representative NSRs would comply with the traffic noise criteria. However, exceedance of the traffic noise would still be predicted at some of the representative NSRs due to existing roads. The predicted overall noise levels of all the NSRs are summarized in Table 4.11 and presented in Appendix 4.7.

Table 4.11 Summary of Predicted Road Traffic Noise Assessment Results under Mitigated Scenario (Year 2048)

NSR ID	NSR Description	Land use	Noise Assessment Point (NAP) ID ^[1]	NAP Description	Assessment level, mPD	Criterion, dB(A)	Overall Noise Level, dB(A)^[2][3]	Project Road, dB(A)^[2][3][4]	Existing Road, dB(A)^[2][3][4]	Project Road Contribution, dB(A)^[2][3][5]	Whether Additional Mitigation Measures on Project Roads are Required
Existing Representative NSRs
FHT	Fuk Hang Tsuen	Residential	FHT1	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	27.4	70	67	41	67	-	No
		Residential	FHT2	Temporary Structure at Fuk Hang Tsuen	28.0	70	70	-	70	-	No
WPST	Wo Ping San Tsuen	Residential	WPST1	145 Wo Ping San Tsuen	17.6 – 20.2	70	72	46 - 47	72	0.0	No
		Residential	WPST2	Temporary Structure at Wo Ping San Tsuen	15.3 – 17.5	70	62 - 63	51 - 52	62 - 63	-	No
TKT	Tan Kwai Tsuen	Residential	TKT3	174B Tan Kwai Tsuen	32.9	70	62	58	60	-	No
		Residential	TKT4	345 Tan Kwai Tsuen	21.3 – 23.3	70	62	60	58 - 59	-	No
		Residential	TKT5	370 Tan Kwai Tsuen	37.2	70	69	68	63	-	No
		Residential	TKT6	392 Tan Kwai Tsuen	35.6	70	67	66	63	-	No
MP	Manor Parc	Residential	MP1	Manor Parc 21	25.7 – 36.5	70	64 - 66	60 - 62	62 - 63	-	No
CR	Casa Regalia	Residential	CR1	89 Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	27.1 – 34.5	70	64 - 65	58 - 59	63 - 64	-	No
			CR2	85C Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	26.4 – 33.8	70	62 - 64	59 - 60	60 - 61	-	No
			CR3	83B Tan Kwai Tsuen Road, Casa Regalia	25.5 – 32.9	70	62 - 64	59 - 61	59 - 61	-	No
BT	Buddhist Temple	Place for public worship	BT1	Buddhist Temple	22.7 – 26.9	65	60 - 61	58 - 59	56 - 57	-	No
TTT	Tai Tao Tsuen	Residential	TTT1	40 Tai Tao Tsuen	16.5 – 24.5	70	71 - 73	43 - 46	71 - 73	0.0	No
		Residential	TTT2	Temporary Structure at Tai Tao Tsuen	21.8	70	61	60	54	-	No
UT	Uptown	Education	UT1	Agnes Wise Kindergarten	11.9 – 15.9	65	75 - 76	50 - 51	75 - 76	0.0	No
		Residential	UT2	Uptown Tower 3	22.5 – 76.5	70	79 - 81	59 - 61	79 - 81	0.1	No
		Residential	UT3	Uptown House 30	16.7 – 22.7	70	76 - 79	48 - 54	76 - 79	0.0	No
		Residential	UT4	Uptown House 38	16.7 – 22.7	70	60 - 63	52 - 55	59 - 62	-	No
		Residential	UT5	Uptown Tower 8	22.5 – 76.5	70	66 - 76	57 - 69	65 - 75	0.9	No
LR	Le Regent	Residential	LR1	146 Tai Tao Tsuen	11.5 – 16.9	70	62 - 66	49 - 58	62 - 66	-	No
		Residential	LR2	143 Tai Tao Tsuen	11.5 – 16.9	70	69 - 72	61 - 64	69 - 72	0.7	No
		Residential	LR3	143 Tai Tao Tsuen	11.5 – 16.9	70	69 - 72	62 - 65	69 - 71	0.9	No
FSW	Fui Sha Wai	Residential	FSW1	176A Fui Sha Wai	12.2 – 17.6	70	61 - 64	56 - 58	59 - 62	-	No
		Residential	FSW2	191 Fui Sha Wai	10.6 – 16.0	70	63 - 65	60 - 62	60 - 63	-	No
PV	Park Villa	Residential	PV1	Park Villa 35	20.2 – 27.8	70	66 - 70	55 - 58	66 - 69	-	No
		Residential	PV2	Park Villa 33	20.2 – 27.8	70	66 - 72	54 - 58	66 - 72	0.3	No
		Residential	PV3	Park Villa 33	20.2 – 27.8	70	68 - 73	51 - 57	68 - 73	0.1	No
		Residential	PV4	Park Villa 20	23.5 – 31.1	70	70 - 71	-	70 - 71	0.0	No
TYST	Tong Yan San Tsuen	Residential	TYST1	2 Sha Tseng Road	21.7 – 24.7	70	76	52 - 54	76	0.1	No
STT	Sha Tseng Tsuen	Residential	STT1	Temporary Structure at Sha Tseng Tsuen	14.2 – 16.2	70	71	49 - 50	71	0.0	No
TE	The Eldorado	Residential	TE1	The Eldorado Block 8	17.2 – 26.5	70	66 - 68	49 - 51	66 - 68	-	No
		Residential	TE2	The Eldorado Block 9	17.2 – 26.5	70	59 - 64	-	59 - 64	-	No
JC	Jasper Court	Residential	JC1	Jasper Court Block 1	17.6 – 29.6	70	74 - 77	48 - 56	74 - 76	0.1	No
		Residential	JC2	Jasper Court Block 2	16.3 – 28.3	70	69 - 76	47 - 58	68 - 76	0.1	No
		Residential	JC3	Jasper Court Block 10	15.7 – 27.7	70	68 - 79	-	68 - 79	0.0	No
PSV	Parkside Villa	Residential	PSV1	Parkside Villa Block 1	12.6 – 42.6	70	73 - 74	-	73 - 74	0.0	No
Planned NSRs
PSS	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	Residential	PSS1	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	65 - 69	57 - 67	65 - 67	-	No
		Residential	PSS2	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	65 - 70	63 - 69	59 - 66	-	No
		Residential	PSS3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	65 - 70	59 - 68	64 - 69	-	No
		Residential	PSS4	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	49.3 – 157.8	70	65 - 70	63 - 70	58 - 66	-	No
		Residential	PSS5	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	25.7 – 134.9	70	64 - 70	48 - 58	64 - 70	-	No
		Residential	PSS6	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	25.7 – 134.9	70	63 - 69	49 - 59	63 - 69	-	No
		Residential	PSS7	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	25.7 – 134.9	70	46 - 64	46 - 63	40 - 56	-	No
		Residential	PSS8	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	28.7 – 137.9	70	55 - 69	46 - 63	54 - 67	-	No
		Residential	PSS9	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	28.7 – 137.9	70	61 - 70	46 - 58	60 - 70	-	No
		Residential	PSS10	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	28.7 – 137.9	70	52 - 63	46 - 61	51 - 57	-	No
		Residential	PSS11	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	34.2 – 158.6	70	52 - 68	48 - 63	50 - 67	-	No
		Residential	PSS12	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	34.2 – 158.6	70	63 - 70	52 - 61	63 - 70	-	No
		Residential	PSS13	Proposed Public Housing Development at Ping Shan South	34.2 – 158.6	70	58 - 59	49 - 54	57	-	No
TKTPH	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	Residential	TKTPH1	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	54 - 70	52 - 66	51 - 69	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH2	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	53 - 70	50 - 66	50 - 69	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH3	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	55 - 70	50 - 69	53 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH4	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	60 - 70	50 - 70	58 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH5	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	59 - 70	52 - 69	58 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH6	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 69	48 - 63	49 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH7	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	51 - 69	47 - 63	49 - 67	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH8	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	61 - 70	49 - 66	60 - 68	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH9	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	61 - 68	49 - 66	61 - 63	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH10	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	61 - 68	49 - 66	60 - 63	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH11	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	62 - 69	50 - 66	62 - 66	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH12	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	53 - 70	49 - 65	50 - 69	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH13	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 70	47 - 65	50 - 69	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH14	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	51 - 70	48 - 66	49 - 69	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH15	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	51 - 62	47 - 60	49 - 58	-	No
		Residential	TKTPH16	Proposed Public Housing Development at Tan Kwai Tsuen, Yuen Long	43.2 – 202.5	70	52 - 66	49 - 64	48 - 62	-	No
LB	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	Education	LB01	Proposed School	9.2 – 26.6	65	73 - 74	-	73 - 74	0.0	No
		Residential	LB02	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	28.2 – 152.4	70	72 - 74	-	72 - 74	0.0	No
		Residential	LB03	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	28.2 – 152.4	70	71 - 73	-	71 - 73	0.0	No
		Residential	LB04	Planned Long Bin Public Housing Development	36.2 – 155.0	70	73 - 75	-	73 - 75	0.0	No
LTN	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	Residential	LTN1	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	35.2 – 136.0	70	71 - 75	51 - 58	71 - 75	0.1	No
		Residential	LTN2	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	35.2 – 136.0	70	68 - 74	53 - 58	68 - 74	0.2	No
		Residential	LTN3	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37.7 – 138.5	70	65 - 74	40 - 44	65 - 74	0.1	No
		Residential	LTN4	Planned Public Housing Development at Lam Tei North	37.7 – 138.5	70	76 - 80	-	76 - 80	0.0	No
YLS1314	Yuen Long Areas 13 and 14	GIC	YL1314_1	Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14	7.7 – 28.7	70	76 - 78	-	76 - 78	0.0	No
		Residential	YL1314_2	Yuen Long Areas 13 & 14	7.7 – 74.9	70	74 - 78	-	74 - 78	0.0	No
YLS	Yuen Long South Development	Residential	YLS1	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	36.5 – 70.6	70	68 - 70	-	68 - 70	-	No
			YLS2	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	36.5 – 70.6	70	70 - 72	40	70 - 72	0.0	No
			YLS3	Planned Residentials under Yuen Long South Development	30.5 – 64.6	70	71 - 72	-	71 - 72	0.0	No

Note:

[1] The assessment only included NSRs which relied on openable windows for ventilation.

[2] Values bolded and underlined indicate exceedance to the relevant noise criterion.

[3] Noise levels would be rounded up to nearest integer to determine the compliance of the criteria.

[4] Noise level below 40 dB(A) would be considered negligible and hence not shown in the table and presented as “-“.

[5] “-”: Predicted overall noise level complied with the noise criterion under mitigated scenario.

4.8.14 With reference to Clause 3.4.1(b) of Appendix C of the EIA Study Brief, the estimated total number of dwellings and other NSRs that will be benefited and protected are summarized in Table 4.12.

Table 4.12 Number of residential dwellings/ rooms benefited and protected under Mitigated Scenario

Description	No. of Residential Dwellings	No. of Classrooms	No. of Other NSRs (Place of Public Worship, Accommodation / Hostel, Clinic / Home for the aged)	Total
Benefited	2,529	0	0	2,529
Protected	1,516	0	0	1,516

Notes:

[1] Benefited – Noise reduction of 1.0 dB(A) or greater in overall noise level with the noise mitigation measures in place

[2] Protected – Overall noise level not greater than relevant noise criteria with the noise mitigation measures in place

4.8.15 With reference to Clause 3.3.2(c), Appendix C of the EIA Study Brief, the estimated total number of dwellings, classrooms and other noise sensitive receivers that will be exposed to noise impact exceeding the respective criteria are presented in Table 4.13.

Table 4.13 Estimated number of dwellings, classrooms, and other NSRs exposed to exceedance

Scenario	Estimated Number Exposed to Exceedance
	No. of Residential Dwellings	No. of Classrooms	No. of Other NSRs (Place of Public Worship, Accommodation / Hostel, Clinic / Home for the aged)	Total
Prevailing in 2028	2,027	16	0	2,043
Unmitigated in 2048	2,302	16	0	2,318
Mitigated in 2048	786	16	0	802

4.8.16 Prior to the commencement of the Project, it is estimated that 2,027 existing dwellings, classroom, and other NSRs have already been subject to traffic noise impact from the existing roads. The proposed project without any noise mitigation measures will increase the number of existing dwellings, classroom, and other NSRs along the Project to be exposed to the excessive traffic noise by 275, i.e., 275 dwellings, classrooms, and other NSRs exposed to exceedance. Upon exhausting all practicable direct noise mitigation measures, it is estimated that the number of dwellings, classroom, and other NSRs exposed to exceedance will be 802, which is less than that prior to the commencement of the Project. These NSRs which are predicted to exceed the relevant noise criteria are due to the traffic noise from other existing roads.

4.9 Evaluation of Residual Impact

Construction Noise

4.9.1 With the implementation of the proposed mitigation measures, construction noise impact to the NSRs could be effectively controlled and minimized. A construction noise management plan (CNMP) would be required to submit to the Director of the EPD. The CNMP will contain quantitative construction noise impact assessment, adopted quieter construction method and equipment, noise mitigation measures, and construction noise monitoring and auditing programme, with reference to the updated and identified noise mitigation measures once available and in any case before the tender invitation if there is any change to the construction noise mitigation measures recommended in this EIA report and before the commencement of construction of this Project. Any technical constraint that would hinder the use of these quieter construction method and equipment shall be evaluated and clearly recorded in the assessment.

Operation Phase Road Traffic Noise

4.9.2 With the implementation of all the proposed direct noise mitigation measures, including at-source mitigation measures by the Project and at-receiver mitigation measures at PSS and TKT by Housing Department, the Project road noise contributions to the overall noise levels at all NSRs would be less than 1.0 dB(A) and the Project road noise levels would all be below the relevant noise criteria. Adverse road traffic noise impact on existing and planned NSRs is not anticipated.

4.9.3 Results of the eligibility assessment for indirect technical remedies is presented in Appendix 4.8. Due to high prevailing noise levels and/or dominant noise contribution from existing roads, none of the NSRs are eligible for consideration for indirect technical remedies under the EIAO-TM.

4.10 Environmental Monitoring and Auditing

Construction Phase

4.10.1 The construction noise management plan (CNMP), which contain detailed quantitative construction noise assessment, noise mitigation measures, and construction noise monitoring and auditing programme, shall be prepared, and submitted to the Director of the EPD

Operation Phase

4.10.2 No adverse traffic noise impact is anticipated from Project contribution with the proposed mitigation measures in place. Road traffic noise levels should be monitored at representative NSR, which are in the vicinity of the recommended direct mitigation measures, during the first year after road opening. The purpose of the monitoring is to ascertain that the recommended mitigation measures are effective in reducing the noise levels.

4.11 Conclusion

Construction Phase

4.11.1 Potential construction noise impact has been qualitatively addressed. Mitigation measures including good site practices, adoption of quieter construction method and equipment, QPME, deployment of construction noise barriers and enclosure are proposed to control and minimize adverse construction noise impact to the NSRs. A construction noise management plan, which to verify the inventory of noise sources, and to assess the effectiveness and practicality of all identified measures for mitigating the construction noise impact of the project, would be prepared during the design / tendering and implementation stage of the construction works. Regular site environmental audit during construction phase is recommended to ensure proper implementation of mitigation measures and good site practices.

Operation Phase

4.11.2 The assessment for the potential road traffic noise impact from operation of the Project was conducted. The assessment results indicated that the predicted road traffic noise levels at some of the representative NSRs would exceed the noise criteria under unmitigated scenario.

4.11.3 Although some of the NSRs still exceed the noise criteria under mitigated scenario, with the implementation of noise mitigation measures including LNRS and vertical noise barriers/cantilever noise barriers on some Project roads, the exceedances were dominantly contributed by the other existing roads. The contributions from the Project roads to the overall noise levels at all NSRs are all less than 1.0 dB(A) and all the predicted noise levels of the Project roads would comply with the noise criteria. Thus, no adverse road traffic noise impacts arising from the Project would be anticipated.