The government plans a sweeping clean up of fixed-pitch hawker stalls, in the wake of last year's deadly fire in Mong Kok that killed nine people and injured 34.

The plan is to improve fire safety measures at more than 4,000 stalls in 43 open-air hawker areas across the city. The government will pay for the work if hawkers are required to redesign their stalls. The project, at an estimated cost of HK$200 million is expected to take five years to complete.

After visiting hawker areas on Bowring Street in Jordan and Marble Road in North Point on Monday, the Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said the government will provide subsidies for three types of stalls to improve fire safety.

Subsidies will be granted to stall hawkers who plan to improve their stalls' by issuing guidelines on design, including information on fire-resistant material, taking into account of the goods they sell, he said.

"Considering the safety, we particularly are concerned about the stalls that are close to staircase entrances in residential buildings," he said. Priority will be given to stalls which pose a fire threat and a subsidy will be provided for their removal, he added.

The government is also offering a one-off subsidy to elderly hawkers, or those who want to close their business, to encourage vendors to return their licenses to the government.

Ko said details of the improvement plan will take six to eight months to work out, adding District Councils and hawkers' associations will be consulted.

"We believe this assistance scheme will not only improve hawker management and fire safety, but also enhance the operating environment of hawkers. Through the scheme, members of the public can also shop at the hawker areas in a more comfortable and safe environment," Ko said.

Abraham Lai Ka-chun, a member of the Wan Chai Street Market Concern Group, said it is impractical to ask the stall hawkers to move, since hawker areas already are overcrowded. "Where are they going to relocate?" asked Lai. "Take Fa Yuen Street as an example, the street is extremely packed. If the hawkers move, they may lose a lot of business." He called for the government to designate an area in each district to reduce fire hazards and nourish a revitalized street market culture.

Lai added that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has stepped up enforcement against non-compliant stalls since the fire in Mong Kok but the frontline officers lack consistent guidelines to show hawkers what kind of installation they require. Some hawkers on Bowring Street welcomed the changes but they are worried that the subsidy would not be enough for removal and a safety upgrade. They also made it clear that they would not surrender their licenses, claiming their stalls are their main source of income.

The killer blaze broke out on November 30, 2011, and tore through flimsy stalls and residential buildings full of subdivided flats on Fa Yuen Street, a popular tourist destination.

The government blamed the hawkers citing the illegal storage of goods in stairwells, which blocked the exits.

Police suspected that an electrical fault, rather than arson, was the cause of the city's deadliest blaze in 15 years.

mingyeung@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 09/04/2012 page1)