Chief Executive Carrie Lam today inspected the handover of the first phase of the community isolation facility (CIF) in Penny's Bay.

The Penny's Bay CIF, providing around 7,000 units and around 14,000 beds in total, is the largest among the isolation facilities constructed with Mainland support.

Given the large scale of the facility, China State Construction will hand over the CIF to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for operation in phases. The first batch contains around 1,000 units and around 2,000 beds.

In her speech, Mrs Lam said different from the CIFs opened earlier, the Penny's Bay facility is a two-storey building, with each unit fitted with an individual toilet and bathroom.

The Modular Integrated Construction modules were prefabricated in a factory with installed interior decoration, building services and furniture. Upon arrival at the construction site, the units will be ready for use after simple installation and connection to fresh water, electricity and sewerage system.

The remaining facilities in Penny's Bay, as well as the sizable CIFs adjacent to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal and in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, are expected to be handed over to the Hong Kong SAR Government for operation within this month and over the next three months.

Counting the six CIFs opened earlier, the nine CIFs constructed with Mainland support are set to provide about 50,000 beds, the Chief Executive pointed out.

She added that Hong Kong’s anti-epidemic capabilities would be greatly enhanced, which are incomparable to the shortfall of isolation facilities two months ago.

Mrs Lam again expressed gratitude to the central government for its staunch support, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR for its intensive co-ordination, and the construction team for working around the clock to enable the projects to be handed over in phases in just two months.