The second consignment of relief supplies from Hong Kong has been arranged for direct flight to Jakarta, Indonesia, by air Saturday, a government press release said Friday.
Upon direct appeal by the Indonesian government, the consignment includes 76 tons of emergency supplies including bottles of drinking water, tents, blankets and torches.
The emergency supplies of public health items to the Thai government were sent on Jan. 1.
The freight is scheduled for arriving at Jakarta early Saturday morning.
Free freight arrangement was generously offered by the Cathay Pacific Airways (CPA) and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (HACTL).
In taking over the consignment on behalf of the Indonesian government, Consul-General of the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong Paiman Turnip expressed gratitude to the positive and proactive response of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government. He also thanked the Cathay Pacific Airways and HACTL for their public-spirited offers that have made the speedy delivery possible.
The HKSAR government is also liaising closely with official representatives of the governments of other affected countries to ascertain their needs and to map out practical arrangements with a view to providing emergency aid to the victims in a timely manner.
The direct shipments at the government to government level have been made possible under a special mechanism set up by the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) Advisory Committee for this major disaster. The special mechanism enables the HKSAR government to respond expeditiously to direct appeals from governments of the affected countries. A total of 8 million HK dollars (US$1.03 million) has been earmarked for this purpose.
(Xinhua News Agency January 8, 2005)
