SKYLINE News Briefing -12 April 2006

The Lighthouse Club – Celebrating 20 years in Asia

The Lighthouse Club is celebrating 20 years in Asia in 2006. A construction industry organization, the Lighthouse Club promotes good fellowship and cooperation between its members. It does this through its organization of professional and social events, such as seminars, golf days, social events and dinners etc. Not only does it promote fellowship between people related to the construction industry, it creates great networking and business opportunities. Since opening its first Asian Club in Hong Kong, others have been opened in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Singapore and most recently in Phuket and Macau.

Each Lighthouse Club also seeks to put back something of benefit into its local construction community by means of benevolence and charitable works. Thanks to the generous support of the Construction Industry, by way of sponsorship of the 20 th Anniversary Events, this important milestone will be marked by the raising of a large amount of funds for the benefit of the Lighthouse Club charities.

The 20 th Anniversary Events are being arranged by the Lighthouse Club Asia Pacific Region and are being held in Hong Kong and Macau in early May 2006. Booking details for the following events can be obtained from Ms. Marianne Ho of the Lighthouse Club, Hong Kong Branch telephone +852 2687 2267, fax +852 2687 2252, e-mail lighthousehkg@yahoo.com, web www.lighthouseclub.com.hk. Brochures, programme and registration forms for the 20 th Anniversary Events can also be downloaded from www.consult3d.com/lhc/LHC20_web_site.html. <More..>

Hong Kong Rugby Seven 2006

England team celebrate after beating Fiji 26-24 in the final. Source: MetroHK

Lai Sun weighs redeveloping Ritz-Carlton into office tower
YVONNE LIU , SCMP 11 April 2006
Lai Sun Development is studying the possibility of redeveloping the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Central into an office building, which the company sees as offering greater returns.

Tamar plan flaws outlined
Leslie Kwoh, The Standard 10 April 2006
Braving fickle skies and droves of Sunday shoppers, a handful of determined lawmakers took to the bustling streets of Mong Kok to enlist the public's support in their quest to halt the Tamar development project.

A new round of soul-searching on the future of West Kowloon was launched yesterday with the naming of a committee that will spend the rest of the year re-examining the project's core arts and cultural facilities.

Harbour plan needs 'tripartite support'
CHEUNG CHI-FAI , SCMP 7 April 2006

Betty Yuen, managing director of CLP Power, at the International Sustainable Development
Research Conference 2006. Picture by Robert Ng

The harbour controversy shows just how difficult it is to achieve an ideal three-way partnership between government, business and the public on key issues, a conference heard yesterday.

Tamar U-turn a show of DAB's political courage
Carrie Chan, The Standard 6 April 2006
Chief Executive Donald Tsang's unprecedented appearance at a central committee meeting of the main pro-Beijing party, together with his pledge for a core partnership relationship in the long term, proved irresistible for the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

DAB hints at U-turn on Tamar plan
MARTIN WONG , SCMP 5 April 2006
The DAB hinted last night that it would support plans to build the new government headquarters on the Tamar site, after the chief executive took the extraordinary step of attending a meeting of the party's central committee.

Government hits back at Tamar critics
MAY CHAN, JIMMY CHEUNG and MARTIN WONG , SCMP 4 April 2006
The government last night hit back at criticism that it had played down the environmental impact of building its new headquarters at Tamar.

Activists hail rethink on cultural district
BARCLAY CRAWFORD , SCMP 4 April 2006
Harbourfront activists have won a small victory from the government on the controversial West Kowloon Cultural District. It has decided to keep cultural facilities separate from commercial aspects of the development.

Appointment of Town Planning Board members
The Chief Executive has appointed six officials and 32 non-officials to the Town Planning Board for a two-year term from April 1, 2006, to March 31, 2008.

Winds of cultural change blow
Leslie Kwoh, The Standard 27 March 2006
Sunday's rain and winds had many Hong Kongers running for cover but they failed to deter the more than 100 politicians and activists who attended an outdoor forum to share their visions for the government's suspended West Kowloon Cultural District project.

Former buildings chief Leung Chin-man committed procedural errors in granting bonus land to Henderson Land for its Grand Promenade project, an independent panel investigating the incident has found.

KCR to replace air cons with more efficient cooling system
ANITA LAM , SCMP 27 March 2006
Air conditioning will become a thing of the past at KCRC stations as a more cost-efficient, environmentally friendly cooling system is introduced.

Serious flooding in the New Territories should be a thing of the past once major drainage works in a $9.2 billion programme are completed later this year.

The government will announce the final route of the Sha Tin-Central rail line in two months, when it announces the merger of the two rail operators, a source said.

Funding for EcoPark development approved
Hong Kong Government, 24 March 2006
The Finance Committee today (March 24) endorsed a government proposal to upgrade the EcoPark project in Tuen Mun Area 38 to Category A at an estimated cost of $319.1 million.

Appointment of HA Members for 2006/07
Hong Kong Government, 24 March 2006
The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:

The Chief Executive has reappointed five serving members and appointed six new members to the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) for two years with effect from April 1, 2006, the Government announced today (March 24).

Draft Ma Wan Outline Zoning Plan approved
Hong Kong Government, 24 March 2006
The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Ma Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP)