Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen is expected to announce the speeding up of infrastructure projects development in his policy address to boost Hong Kong's economy and create more job opportunities in an attempt to minimise the impact of the global financial turmoil on the city.

An NGO set up by a developer is bidding for a revitalisation project to turn the Old Tai O Police Station into a boutique hotel.

The Town Planning Board today (October 3) announced amendments to the approved Wang Tau Hom and Tung Tau Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

Following is the transcript of the Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, speaking to the media after attending the Building Safety Carnival 2008 in Victoria Park today (October 5):

The government has identified 24 spots to form a heritage trail that tells the story of old Wan Chai, although the fate of some of the buildings is still up in the air and they may eventually be closed off to the public.

The Executive Council has agreed in principle to allocate 60,000 square metres of land in Tin Shui Wai to the Housing Society for a residential development for the elderly.

The Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) announced today (October 6) that the Chief Executive-in-Council had given in-principle approval for lease modification of the site of the former Tanner Hill Estate at Tanner Road, North Point for the development of an elderly housing project by the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS).

The Government today (October 6) launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise, seeking innovative ideas from interested parties for making best use of Tin Shui Wai (TSW) Area 112 Site B to give fresh economic impetus and create more jobs for the district.

Major businesses and tourist attractions on Lantau are forming a coalition to seek ways of grabbing the biggest possible economic benefit for the island from the Hong Kong- Macau-Zhuhai bridge that is expected to open in seven years.

Economists, cruise operators and lawmakers have generally applauded the government's move to shoulder the construction costs of a new cruise terminal at Kai Tak, but democrats have their doubts about it.

The government will spend HK$7.2 billion to build a cruise terminal at Kai Tak amid fears that surging construction costs and financial turmoil have deterred private companies.

The government might pass a motion at the Executive Council meeting today to build the Kai Tak cruise terminals without outside assistance after private tenders submitted failed to meet government requirements in July. It is hoped that construction of the project and the completion of it by 2013 would stimulate the economy.

The government has abandoned the tendering process for the Kai Tak cruise terminal and decided to allocate approximately HK$7 billion to build it, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan said on Tuesday.

Grieving parents whose son drowned in a pool at a Drainage Services Department construction site urged the department yesterday to pump water from the accident scene to prevent another tragedy.

Prohibitive costs and limited demand are expected to plague the proposed 30km rail link between the Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports, which will take more than a decade to eke out a 3 per cent return, according to a Chinese University study.