The government is seeking HK$72.3 million from Legco to provide more parking spaces in Mui Wo.

It is also considering using the grounds of the shuttered Mui Wo Heung Yee Kuk Secondary School as a short-term parking solution.

The upgrade would increase capacity of the car park from 70 to 188 spaces, the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) said in a paper to the Legco Public Works Committee.

The project, a part of the long-running Mui Wo facelift works, involves expanding the existing car park behind the closed school and widening the access road that runs from the car park past the school.

Siu Kang-chuen, a Transport Department chief engineer, reportedly told Legco on December 22 that Mui Wo has on average about 200 parked cars, of which 40 to 50 are illegally parked. He said the department was searching for other locations to increase parking space, including the grounds of the school as a short-term solution.

The project is expected to begin in 2016 and conclude in 2019.

The current $190 million phase of the Mui Wo facelift, which includes widening the promenade,  upgrading the town plaza and the cooked food market, is due to be completed in September this year, Oriental Daily reported.