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- Cheung Chau lot sold for $96.5 million at this financial year's last land auction
- Queen's Pier move hit by `on the cheap' claims
- 31 Building plans approved in February
1. Cheung Chau lot sold for $96.5 million at this financial year's last land auction
Hong Kong Government, 28 March 2007
The Lands Department this afternoon (March 27) held the last public land auction of the financial year. A Government lot at Shui Hang, Cheung Chau was sold for $96.5 million.
The site, Lot No.1848 in Demarcation District Cheung Chau, was sold to Green View Investment Ltd. for $96.5 million. The opening bid was $39 million. It has a site area of about 10,382 square metres and is designated for private residential purposes. A minimum gross floor area of 2,491 square metres must be completed.
The auction was conducted at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui by Assistant Director of Lands, Mr Graham Ross, assisted by Chief Estate Surveyor, Ms Karen Chan.
2. Queen's Pier move hit by `on the cheap' claims
Mimi Lau, The Standard 28 March 2007
Lawmakers have accused the government of trying to rush through with a cheaper way of preserving Queen's Pier by relocating part of it to an adjacent site.
They made the accusation Tuesday at a meeting of the Legislative Council's planning, lands and works panel to discuss four alternative government plans to preserve the pier following a series of meetings with professional bodies, including the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers.
Three options call for in-situ preservation of the pier, while the fourth requires it to be relocated to a nearby location, but away from City Hall.
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung told the council the first three proposals, costing hundreds of million dollars, are impractical.
"The first few determining factors for the four proposals are not based on financial considerations, or delaying of construction time, but their technical feasibility," he said.
Government civil engineering expert Ma Lee- tak said the three in-situ proposals would incur irreversible damage to the pier or important underground facilities, such as the Airport Railway Extended Overrun Tunnel to be aligned directly beneath it.
The fourth proposal, favored by the government, suggests pulling down the pier and preserving some "worthy" parts to be reassembled close to its original location at an estimated cost of HK$50 million.
Suen said the government had met three times with four professional bodies, which also include the Conservancy Association, in the past two months. But Michael Chiang Hon-man, chairman of the HKIA's planning and lands committee, said there had not been "adequate discussions" between the government and building experts.
He said the reasons the government had given to convince legislators that the three in-situ proposals were technically impractical were unheard of among the experts. "There hasn't been enough project information and data to persuade experts why these [in-situ] proposals would not work. The government's so-called impractical claims do not contain sufficient details," Chiang said.
He urged the government to release all the details of its four proposals and allow the public to decide which option they would prefer.
Conservancy Association director Hung Wing- tat said he did not accept the government's explanations.
"I don't think government officials really have the drive to preserve the structure of Queen's Pier. What I do feel is that the government is trying to push ahead with the original plan," Hung said.
He accused the government of trying to rush through with the work contract by 2009 whereby Queen's Pier would not be preserved the way it should be.
Suen also told lawmakers he is still willing to listen to public opinion, and would welcome any new proposals from now until May before he approaches Legco's Finance Committee for the funds to preserve the pier.
Kwok Ka-ki, who represents the medical sector, said he doubted if Suen would have enough time to thoroughly consult the public within a month before construction work begins.
Kwok claimed the government is trying to overstate the financial costs of the three in-situ proposals in order to influence public opinion.
Suen said all the figures quoted are based on evaluation by government experts. "I strongly protest against [Kwok's assumptions]," he said, adding the next few weeks will give the public enough time to study all the proposals.
Patrick Lau Sau-shing, who represents the architectural, surveying and planning sector, said relocating Queen's Pier to a new site nearby would turn it into a "pavilion" instead of a pier.
Suen said the government is happy to meet civil groups to study ways to preserve the icon.
3. 31 Building plans approved in February
Hong Kong Government, 28 March 2007
The Buildings Department approved 31 building plans in February - 11 on Hong Kong Island , five in Kowloon and 15 in the New Territories .
Of the approved plans, 12 were for apartment and apartment/commercial developments, 11 were for commercial developments, five were for factory and industrial developments and three were for community services developments.
In the same month, consent was given for work to start on 12 building projects that, when completed, will provide 25,520 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use, involving 207 units, and 125,515 square metres of gross floor area for non-domestic use. The department has received notification of commencement of work for 13 building projects.
The department also issued 17 occupation permits - five on Hong Kong Island , three in Kowloon and nine in the New Territories .
Of the buildings certified for occupation, the gross floor areas for domestic use were 11,452 square metres, involving 34 units, and 27,397 square metres for non-domestic use.
The declared cost of the new buildings completed in February totalled about $0.6 billion.
In addition, seven demolition consents involving seven building structures were issued.
The department received 1,518 complaints against unauthorised building works in February, and issued 2,161 removal orders on unauthorised works.
The full version of the Monthly Digest for February can be viewed by members of the public on the Buildings Department's homepage ( www.bd.gov.hk ).
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