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1. No "secret report" on Tamar Development Project

2. LegCo to debate reports of the Subcommittee on West Kowloon Cultural District Development

3. Northern Link and HK section of ERL to proceed with further planning

1. No "secret report" on Tamar Development Project
Hong Kong Government, 6 February 2006

A Government spokesman today (February 6) dismissed as misleading a newspaper report that the Government has been withholding "a secret report" recommending in-situ redevelopment of the existing Central Government Offices (CGO) and Murray Building.

"It is a totally unfounded allegation that the Government has been withholding any such analysis from the Legislative Council (LegCo) and the public.

"Throughout the process of consultation and deliberations with the Legislative Council, we have furnished detailed information as to the rationale, justifications and various considerations regarding the Tamar development project.

"In the Legislative Council Brief issued on April 30, 2002 explaining the Government's decision to develop the new Central Government Complex and Legislative Council Complex at Tamar, we set out the comparison of the Tamar site option and the in-situ redevelopment of the CGO and Murray Building.

"We highlighted that having regard to the planning concept, demand and supply of Grade A office, timeframe and operational efficiency, the Tamar site is a better option than in-situ redevelopment.  Compared with in-situ redevelopment, the proposed development at Tamar would be completed at least four years earlier," the spokesman said.

Since early 90's, the Government had been looking into options trying to cope with the growing demand of office space in the CGO and Murray Building.  Previous research on in-situ redevelopment showed that while it might be technically feasible to redevelop the CGO, there would be significant constraints.  In particular, the required decantation of an interim reprovisioning for the staff of CGO and Murray Building would cause serious disruption to the operation of the Government Secretariat.

There are also concerns on site limitations, such as presence of a large number of mature trees, and preservation of historical features, for instance, character of the open space outside St. John's Cathedral and Court of Final Appeal, Battery Path etc.  Furthermore, the in-situ redevelopment could not resolve the accommodation needs of the Legislative Council.

“Since the announcement on re-launching the Tamar development project in October 2005, the Government has been in close consultation with the LegCo on the details of the Tamar development project.  We have reiterated the justifications for the Tamar site and its relative merits over the option of in-situ redevelopment of the CGO and Murray Building," he added.

To recapitulate on the background, the Tamar site was first earmarked for reprovisioning of the Government Secretariat in January 1998.  The existing uses of the Tamar site, i.e. half for "Government, Institution or Community" use and half for "Open Space" use, have since gone through the due and statutory public consultation and planning process before the approval of the relevant Outline Zoning Plan in 2000.

It has been the planning objective to develop the Tamar site into the civic core of Hong Kong, comprising the new Central Government Complex, new Legislative Council Complex and a civic place as core development components.

he Tamar development project would address the acute office space shortage problem long faced by the Government Secretariat and the LegCo.  The proposed development of around half of the Tamar site (i.e. 2 hectares) into a civic place would enable the vibrancy and public enjoyment at the waterfront, the spokesman added.

2. LegCo to debate reports of the Subcommittee on West Kowloon Cultural District Development
Hong Kong Government, 6 February 2006

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (February 8) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on the reports of the Subcommittee on West Kowloon Cultural District Development.

The motion, to be proposed by Hon Alan Leong Kah-kit, says: "That this Council endorses the Phase I and Phase II Reports of the Subcommittee on West Kowloon Cultural District Development."

Members will also debate a motion on improving the notification mechanism for contamination of potable water supply to Hong Kong and enhancing coordination in the supply of potable water to Hong Kong. The motion, to be moved by Hon Albert Jinghan Cheng, states: "That, as Hong Kong has to pay a high water price under the current water supply agreement between the HKSAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government while there is no assurance of the water quality, and many incidents of contamination of potable water have recently occurred in the Mainland, in which some local officials were even found to have hidden the truth; moreover, with the industrial and economic developments as well as the population growth in the Pearl River Delta ("PRD") region, the demand for potable water in the region has substantially increased, but the water pollution problem has worsened and led to a continuing decrease in clean and potable water; furthermore, as the existing notification mechanism for contamination of potable water supply to Hong Kong still has deficiencies, this Council urges the HKSAR Government, in discussing the finalization of the specific details of a new water supply agreement, to improve jointly with the Guangdong Provincial Government the existing notification mechanism for contamination of potable water supply to Hong Kong, including imposing a time limit for notification; and to discuss ways to enhance coordination in the supply of potable water to Hong Kong and allow flexibility in determining the supply quantity, so as to avoid drawing unneeded water when there was overflow from local reservoirs and hence resulting in wastage; in addition, if the Guangdong Provincial Government establishes a mechanism for the planning and coordination of water supply in the PRD region, the HKSAR Government should actively take part in the related work."

Hon Wong Ting-kwong and Hon Fred Li will move separate amendments to Hon Albert Jinghan Cheng's motion.

Moreover, Members will debate a motion on policy on public service broadcasting. The motion, to be moved by Hon Audrey Eu, states: "That this Council urges the Government to ensure that public service broadcasting in Hong Kong:

(a) respects editorial independence;
(b) defends the freedom of the press and freedom of speech;
(c) opens up public access channels at an early date;
(d) provides diversified information; and
(e) caters for the needs of the minority and the socially disadvantaged groups."

Hon Sin Chung-kai and Hon Li Kwok-ying will move separate amendments to Hon Audrey Eu's motion.

Meanwhile, Members will ask the Government 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.

The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (http://www.legco.gov.hk).

embers of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

3. Northern Link and HK section of ERL to proceed with further planning
Hong Kong Government, 6 February 2006

The Executive Council has given green light to further planning of the Northern Link (NOL) and the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (ERL).

A government spokesman today (February 6) said that, upon the instruction of the Executive Council, the Kowloon Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) would be asked to proceed with further planning of the proposed NOL and Hong Kong section of the ERL as a combined project.

At present, cross-boundary travellers in the western part of the New Territories rely mainly on the use of road-based transport for commuting to and from the boundary.  Also, there is a lack of rail link between the eastern and western parts of the New Territories.

“The NOL will provide a fast and convenient rail service to the boundary for residents in the western part of the New Territories.  They can, in future, use the new NOL for travelling between the existing West Rail (WR) Kam Sheung Road Station and the Lok Ma Chau Station at the boundary.  They can also use the new NOL station at Chau Tau of Yuen Long to change over to the Spur Line for travelling to and from stations along the East Rail. The NOL will tremendously reduce the journey time between the eastern and western parts of the New Territories,” the spokesman said.

On cross boundary trains, the travelling time between Hong Kong and Guangzhou by the Kowloon-Guangdong Through Train at present is about 100 minutes.  The proposed ERL will reduce the travelling time to an hour, which will be conducive to the integration and development of Hong Kong and Guangdong Province.

The 30km long Hong Kong section of the ERL will have its terminus at West Kowloon.  It will share tracks with the Kowloon Southern Link now under construction, the section of the existing WR between Nam Cheong Station and Kam Sheung Road, and then the NOL before branching out from Chau Tau to a dedicated track, on viaduct and in tunnel, for connection with the Mainland section of the ERL at the boundary at Huanggang.  

The Mainland section of the ERL will be connected to the new, high-speed national rail networks now being developed by phases on the Mainland, including the Beijing-Guangzhou Passenger Line and Hangzhou-Fuzhou-Shenzhen Passenger Line.  It will also be connected to the Rapid Transit System being developed in the Pearl River Delta (PRD).  

“The ERL will significantly improve connections between Hong Kong and the other major PRD cities, and also thereby help to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as the gateway to the PRD and Pan-PRD areas.  It will make use of the spare capacity of the WR corridor, enhancing efficiency in resource allocation and effectiveness in rail capacity utilisation,” the spokesman added.

The Government will begin negotiation with the KCRC on the scope, costs and implementation programme of the combined project.  

oth the NOL and Hong Kong section of the ERL are among the possible projects short-listed for implementation in the Railway Development Strategy 2000.