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1. Greens enter Hung Hom row

2. Demolition of estate 'not acceptable'

3. Ideas for West Kowloon project to be put to public

4. Harbour activist wants to see the bill

5. Approved North Point OZP and Pok Fu Lam OZP amended

6. Town Planning Board welcomes decision on harbour, calls for unity

7. Public to be consulted on West Kowloon Cultural District development proposals

1. Greens enter Hung Hom row
Raymond Wang and Foster Wong, The Standard 20 March 2004

Developers of the controversial Hung Hom Peninsula are facing opposition from an environmental group which yesterday urged them not to tear down and redevelop the housing project.

Hung Hom Peninsula is a subsidised housing project that the government agreed to sell to NWS Holdings and Sun Hung Kai Properties at a loss of almost HK$800 million earlier this year. The developers said the mega project could be torn down and turned into luxury flats.

Environmental group Greenpeace said not only would this create 200,000 tonnes of construction waste but also it would cost taxpayers HK$20 million to move the waste for land reclamation.

Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen said he believed the redevelopment plan would not win public support.

``It is a commercial decision. But personally, I don't think the general public would support knocking it down,'' he said.

Property developer New World Development's (NWD) managing director Henry Cheng, however, said yesterday that the company is still studying whether or not to demolish the Hung Hom Peninsula to make way for a luxury residential project, adding no decision has been made yet. NWS Holdings is an affiliate of New World Development.

A NWS spokesman confirmed the company had received a letter from Greenpeace but did not comment further.

``We will look into the concerns of the environmental group,'' he said.

NWD recently agreed to pay for the subsidised housing project in the form of a premium to the government to allow the developer to turn it into private flats.

Suen said the government has not yet received an application from the developers to demolish Hung Hom Peninsula. ``A land premium will have to be paid for any application to change the land plan [of Hung Hom Peninsula], according to the land deed,'' he said.

``The government will act according to the agreement on the issue, even if they [developers] have a different understanding in that regard.''

The government said any redevelopment would need to comply with the existing master layout and any departure from that would require a lease modification, for which a land premium would be payable.

The government statement came after Cheng's claim on Thursday, that developers would not need to pay a land premium if the plot ratio for a redevelopment is unchanged.

Separately, NWS corporate communication general manager Kwan Chuk-fai said yesterday that the company is in discussions to invest in water treatment and port projects in northern China.

2. Demolition of estate 'not acceptable'
CHEUNG CHI-FAI, SCMP 20 March 2004

A plan by developers to demolish Hunghom Peninsula for redevelopment is not acceptable to Hong Kong society, the housing chief said yesterday.

Secretary for Housing, Planning, and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung also rejected the developers' claims that they did not need to pay extra land premium if they redeveloped the property.

"I think the land lease is pretty clear. If they come up with other interpretations and submit a new application, we will process it according to the contract," he said.

Although redeveloping the site was a commercial decision, to do so "would not be accepted by society".

"It is a commercial decision for the developers to tear down the structures. But the community ... will not accept that," he said.

A Housing Bureau spokesman also reiterated yesterday that any redevelopment had to comply with the master layout plan, which governs such specifics as the number of flats and their size, while a modification of the lease might result in a land premium being payable.

On Thursday, New World Development managing director Henry Cheng Kar-shun said the company would demolish the waterfront estate and replace it with luxury apartments.

The four-year redevelopment project would cost about $5 billion and he believed that no extra premium payment was needed.

But the company's general manager, Stewart Leung Chi-kin, and its partner, Sun Hung Kai Properties, yesterday said: "No decision has been made and we have to calculate the costs and benefits, gauge the pros and cons and watch the changing market situation as well."

Sun Hung Kai also said it was still "studying various options related to Hunghom Peninsula".

The developers bought the property, with a gross floor area of 1.55 million square feet and 2,470 flats, from the government for about $2.77 billion, including $864 million in land premium.

They might have to pay more if they redevelop the site and build more floor space than permitted.

Mr Leung said his company had no development preference so far.

The company also urged the government to start talks over Kingsford Terrace in Ngau Chi Wan, which was also developed under a private sector participation scheme. The 2,100-unit project is another home ownership estate left in limbo since the suspension of government subsidised housing in November 2002.

"We are planning to file a writ to claim the losses from the government next week, if we hear nothing from them by then," Mr Leung said.

Independent legislator Albert Chan Wai-yip said the government should do all it could to block the redevelopment. For example, he said, it could forbid the developers from dumping demolition waste in landfills.

3. Ideas for West Kowloon project to be put to public
JIMMY CHEUNG, SCMP 20 March 2004

The project's canopy will stretch along the harbour. SCMP photo

Development proposals for the West Kowloon Cultural District will be put on show by the government early next year for public consultation.

The exercise would foster a greater sense of "public ownership" of the project, Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said yesterday.

With criticism of the project growing, the government has pushed back to June 19 its deadline for submission of development proposals.

"We agree that without undermining the integrity of the assessment exercise, there is scope for involving the public further so that their views can also be taken into account in the selection [of a development plan]," Mr Tsang said.

The government plans to hold public forums on the proposals during the exhibition period. It says the views it collects will help in making the final selection.

Under the plan, one developer will be given exclusive rights to transform the 40-hectare waterfront area into an arts and cultural zone packed with museums, theatres and residential blocks. Construction is to be completed in stages from 2010.

Critics fear that only a few developers will be qualified to undertake such a large-scale project and the government and legislature will not have any checks on the development.

Mr Tsang said there were strong views that the government should involve the public more, and all proposals that satisfied the development criteria would be put out for public consultation.

"Instead of being presented with a [pre-selected] proposal, the public should be given the opportunity to view the various proposals received, so that they can offer their comments," Mr Tsang said.

"The public consultation will help ensure that the proposal eventually selected will be better received by the public and [will] have greater public ownership."

Independent legislator Lau Ping-cheung, who represents the architectural, surveying and planning sector, said problems still remained with the handling of the project.

"Although involving the public more would help reduce disputes, I think there are still fundamental problems like the single-tender arrangement. Smaller firms would not be able to compete in the tender," he said.

He also said public consultation would not help reduce conflicts among property developers.

In the exhibition, technical aspects of the proposals and the operation, maintenance and management of arts and cultural facilities will be displayed. But officials say the public can expect little information on the financial aspects of the proposals as they involve commercially sensitive information.

4. Harbour activist wants to see the bill
NICK GENTLE, SCMP 20 March 2004

Taxpayers face a $100 million bill for delays to the Central reclamation, the government claims. Prove it, says harbour activist Winston Chu Ka-sun.

"If taxpayers are going to have to pay, show us why. Show us the document. If we have open and transparent government there is no need to be so surreptitious about [the contract with the dredging consortium]," the former head of the Society for Protection of the Harbour said.

Territory Development Department director John Chai Sung-veng said on Thursday the delays caused by court cases challenging the project would bring claims of up to $100 million from the contractor. He was speaking after the High Court last week said that the government could proceed with the controversial project, in a case brought by the society

Mr Chu said implicit in Mr Chai's statement was the accusation that he was to blame for the extra costs since they were a direct result of the legal action. He strongly rejected the accusation.

"If the government had done its job properly and not jumped into this so hastily, we wouldn't be seeing this nonsense. They asked for it, and now they are trying to blame us," Mr Chu said.

He said that three weeks before the contract was signed, the society had warned the government it would be challenging the planning decisions underpinning the Wan Chai North reclamation.

The government should have been aware any negative finding in that case would have a knock-on effect on the Central project.

Mr Chu said the government, knowing the judicial review might go against it and anxious to make the reclamation a fait accompli, rushed into the $3.8 billion contract after a tender process since found to have been flawed. A review committee recommended the project be re-tendered.

"If the government had obeyed the law and complied with that decision there would not be a contract and we would not be in this mess now," he said.

"Instead they rushed in, and now they are telling us it will cost $100 million in delay charges, and $600 million if the project is cancelled," Mr Chu said. "They were either incredibly stupid or they were being incredibly devious.

"They knew this was likely, so where are the safeguard clauses? Why didn't they make the contract conditional on the successful resolution of the court case?"

Mr Chai said his department could not make the contract public.

"It is a private contract between the government and the contractor," he said. There was nothing remarkable about its contents.

• The Town Planning Board yesterday welcomed last week's High Court judgment and called for an end to any further legal challenges.

"It is the sincere wish of the board that the legal disputes on harbour reclamation can be put to an end," a board statement said.

5. Approved North Point OZP and Pok Fu Lam OZP amended
Hong Kong Government, 20 March 2004

The Town Planning Board today (March 19) announced amendments to the approved North Point Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) and approved Pok Fu Lam OZP.

The amendments mainly involve revision of the Notes of the OZPs to follow a revised set of Master Schedule of Notes (MSN) to Statutory Plans endorsed by the Town Planning Board. Under the revised MSN, various measures including broad use terms have been introduced to provide greater flexibility for change of use and reduce the need for planning application.

The general provisions under the covering Notes and the user schedules for various land use zones have been revised to expand the scope of uses that are always permitted. The planning intentions for various zones have also been incorporated into the Notes to form part of the relevant statutory plans.

The amendments to the two approved plans are available for public inspection during normal office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point; the Hong Kong District Planning Office of the Planning Department, 14/F, North Point Government Offices; and the relevant District Offices.

Anyone affected by the amendments to the two approved OZPs can submit a written objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board by May 19.

Copies of the relevant draft plans are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plans can be seen on the Town Planning Board's website at www.info.gov.hk/tpb.

6. Town Planning Board welcomes decision on harbour, calls for unity
Hong Kong Government, 19 March 2004

The Town Planning Board has welcomed the judgment handed down by the High Court on March 9. The court refused an application for a judicial review of the Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan, which was lodged by the Society for Protection of the Harbour.

A spokesman for the board said its members had discussed the judgment today (March 19).

"It is the sincere wish of the board that the legal disputes on harbour reclamation can be put to an end. The board calls for a concerted effort from the community and interest groups to work together in planning the design and use of our harbourfront for the enjoyment of the public," the spokesman said.

"The board is prepared to get on with its work on harbourfront planning to make its Vision Statement for Victoria Harbour come true. It is the board's vision to make the harbour attractive, vibrant, accessible and a symbol of Hong Kong."

The board considered that the setting up of the Advisory Committee on Enhancement of the Harbourfront, as announced by the Government, would help gauge public views and build consensus in the community regarding the harbour.

7. Public to be consulted on West Kowloon Cultural District development proposals
Hong Kong Government, 19 March 2004

The Government announced today (March 19) that the public will be consulted on proposals received for the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD).

"The public consultation will help ensure that the proposal eventually selected for the development of the WKCD will be better received by the public and have greater public ownership," Chief Secretary for the Administration Donald Tsang, who chairs the project's Steering Committee, said.

Since the launch of the Invitation For Proposal to develop the WKCD on September 5, 2003, there has been a lot of interest in the community concerning the development. Various views have been expressed by different groups and particularly, the arts and cultural sector and professional institutes.

At the Legislative Council meeting on November 26, 2003, Mr Tsang announced the Government's decision to defer the deadline for submission of the proposals to June 19, 2004, to allow more time for the proponents to prepare their proposals. At the same time, the Government would make use of the extension to conduct further consultations with the relevant sectors. Extensive consultations have taken place during the past four months.

"The feedback collected so far, including that from the Town Planning Board, has shown that there is a strong opinion that instead of being presented with the selected proposal, the public should be given the opportunity to view the various proposals received, so that they can offer their comments," Mr Tsang said.

"After careful consideration, we agree that, without undermining the integrity of the assessment exercise, there is scope for involving the public further so that their views can also be taken into account in the selection of a preferred proposal," he said.

The Government intends to conduct public consultation by way of an exhibition of the proposals received. All proposals that have satisfied the mandatory requirements will be exhibited. This is likely to take place early next year.

Exhibits prepared by the proponents showing details of the technical aspects of their proposals and the proposed arrangements regarding operation, maintenance and management of the arts and cultural facilities will be displayed. Since commercially sensitive information is involved, only the key elements regarding the financial aspects will be released.

Public forums will also be held during the exhibition period to solicit views from the public on the different proposals. Comments will be collected and compiled, and they will be taken into consideration in the process of negotiation and selection of the preferred proposal.

The Town Planning Board was briefed this morning on the proposed arrangements and welcomed the initiative. The relevant panels of the Legislative Council will also be informed of the arrangements. At the same time, those who have expressed an interest in submitting development proposals will be notified in writing.