Internal fitting-out works at the Legislative Council's (LegCo) new complex at the Tamar site are very close to completion, raising the likelihood that the legislature will move into it in September, Pauline Ng, secretary-general of the LegCo Secretariat, said on Thursday.

Inside the meeting facilities, electronic voting systems have been installed in all conference rooms and tested okay, with the sole exception of the chamber, where plenary meetings are to be held.

The outstanding installation and tests are expected to be completed within the next day or two.

The critical point will come next Tuesday, Ng said, when an integrated test on all systems, including the electronic voting system, computer system, announcement system and TV broadcast facilities for live meetings, will be carried out to ensure they function smoothly at the same time.

Ng paid a two-hour site visit to the new complex on Thursday. She inspected the facilities on every floor carefully and checked the functions of the installed equipment.

Installation of electronic equipment in the chamber remains outstanding as the contractor has just finished fixing desks and chairs, she said.

"What I have just seen is much better than expected," she said.

"There are few problems in internal fitting-out works," she said. "We will carry out an integrated test on Aug 16 on all the systems, because so far the systems are only tested separately. I believe we can catch up with the schedule but we are concerned with the heavy dust, which may affect the stability of the precise electronic systems."

She also said the LegCo Commission will conduct a site visit on Aug 18 and then hold a meeting at one of the conference rooms there. At the meeting, lawmakers will hear a report on the integrated testing, before deciding if they have confidence to go forward with a full-scale or partial relocation to the new complex in September.

If all is well, staff of the LegCo Secretariat and lawmakers will first move into their new offices. And on Oct 4, a "dress rehearsal" comprising full meetings involving all lawmakers and the media will take place to test the readiness of the facilities, Ng added.

joseph@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/12/2011 page1)