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Two draft outline zoning plans amended 2.
Snow park plans suffer meltdown 3.
Exhibition centre size set to double 4.
Authority chief defends controversial housing plan 5.
Lantau elder backs developing tourism 6.
Open housing design to tenders, say architects
1. Two draft outline zoning plans amended The
Town Planning Board (the Board) today (April 4) announced amendments to the draft
Jardine's Lookout and Wong Nai Chung Gap Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) and the draft
Causeway Bay OZP. The Notes of the "Residential (Group B)" and "Residential
(Group C)" zones for the two OZPs are amended to the effect that the provision
for minor relaxation applies not only to the stated building height restriction
but also to the stated plot ratio and/or gross floor area restrictions upon application
to the Board. The draft Jardine's Lookout and Wong Nai Chung Gap OZP No. S/H13/6
and the draft Causeway Bay OZP No. S/H6/11 incorporating the above amendments
are now available for public inspection until April 25, 2002, at the Secretariat
of the Town Planning Board, the Hong Kong District Planning Office and the Wan
Chai District Office. Any person affected by the amendments may submit a written
objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board, 15th Floor, North Point
Government Offices, 333 Java Road on or before April 25, 2002. Copies of the two
draft OZPs are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point
and Yau Ma Tei. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 4 April 2002] 2.
Snow park plans suffer meltdown
Plans to build a $780 million snow theme park on Ma Wan Island have been scrapped
after the developer failed to find investors amid drawn-out talks with the government
about a land grant. SnowWorld Hong Kong was to build the 10.8 hectare theme park
off Lantau, originally scheduled for completion before the opening of Disneyland
in Lantau in 2005. An unnamed executive of Ma Wan Park, developer of the Ma Wan
cultural theme park, confirmed yesterday that plans for a snow park in the complex
would not go ahead. ``[SnowWorld] has given up its plan for a snow theme park.
We kept discussing details of the land grant with the government for more than
15 months following its approval by the Town Planning Board in late 2000, but
nothing positive could be achieved,'' the executive said. ``[SnowWorld] talked
with two overseas investors about the project last year but it failed to secure
funding because, at the time of the discussions, it could not get the land.''
Ma Wan Park signed a memorandum of understanding with SnowWorld in June 2000,
agreeing that SnowWorld would develop and own the SnowWorld facility as part of
the Ma Wan cultural park. Ma Wan Park was responsible for discussions with the
Lands Department about leasing the site for the project. A Lands Department official
said the government would call for tenders for development of the site following
SnowWorld's withdrawal recently. ``We are still thinking of what terms should
be included in the tender document because the government has not yet decided
what exactly the development should be,'' the official said, adding that no date
had been fixed for the tender. According to the developer, the project had received
strong support from the Tourism Commission, the Hong Kong Tourist Board and the
government, as the development was in line with tourism and planning policies
for the area. The snow theme park, forming the third phase of the Ma Wan cultural
theme park, was to feature snow slopes, a winter wonderland, ice skating and simulated
skiing. The first and second phase of the park is being developed by Ma Wan Park,
a non-profit subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties. Sun Hung Kai's Park Island
residential development is within walking distance of the park. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 5 April 2002] 3.
Exhibition centre size set to double
The proposed $4 billion Chek Lap Kok exhibition centre is set to double in size
after industry players complained that the original blueprint was too small. The
government will invite developers to submit business proposals for an exhibition
space of 860,000 to 1.08 million square feet, compared with an original plan of
538,000 sq ft, according to documents submitted to the Legislative Council. The
news came after an industry group called on the government to double the size
of the centre - or face the risk of losing the ability to host large exhibitions.
In a move to maintain Hong Kong's position as a top international exhibition centre,
the government last October announced plans to build a new venue at Chek Lap Kok
airport, scheduled to open in 2005. It initially insisted only a few international
trade fairs in Asia needed exhibition space of 538,000 sq ft or more. Although
an area of 1.08 million sq ft would be now be constructed for the centre, the
government said it might not use the whole space at once. ``Many of the top exhibition
centre operators in Europe and North America to whom we have spoken pointed out
that their facilities began from a modest base, and expanded incremental in response
to market demand,'' it said in a Legco document. The government declined to comment
yesterday ahead of its meeting with legislators on April 8. Meanwhile, it said
it had received an overwhelming preliminary response on the project from developers.
The government and the Airport Authority have so far met 25 exhibition companies
and exhibition centre operators worldwide, of which 19 said they wanted to be
included in formal expressions of interest. ``Our assessment is that, of these
[interested companies], we can expect at least five to compete for the right to
take part in the new exhibition centre,'' the government said. Two major overseas
conglomerates had expressed interest in constructing and financing the centre.
The government said it would contact the 21 interested parties directly about
their participation. The government will pay up to $2 billion of the expected
construction costs. The remaining $2 billion will be met by a private consortium. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 5 April 2002] 4.
Authority chief defends controversial housing plan
The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) non-executive director Lau Ping-cheung has dismissed
criticism of the government's housing policy and insisted the private sector would
always be the driving force in the residential market. Speaking in an interview
on Metro Radio yesterday, Lau revealed that the roles of the Housing Authority
and Housing Bureau would be modified after the review on the SAR's housing policy
was completed at the end of the month. But, he stressed, the government was not
planning to close down the Housing Society, which has been criticised for being
non-productive. ``There have been suggestions of spiking the society. But I don't
think that's possible because it is not a governmental body,'' Lau said. ``I expect
the society to be working with URA on renewal projects.'' Lau also said the URA
would be excluded from the review since it has only been in operation for 10 months.
His comments followed criticism of the government for distorting the property
market. The government has come under fire for putting Home Ownership Scheme (HOS)
flats on the market in direct competition with private developers. After the review,
the government would reduce its role in the property market by cutting the supply
of public and HOS flats, Lau added. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 5 April 2002] 5.
Lantau elder backs developing tourism
A rural leader in south Lantau has supported controversial plans to turn the remote
area, home to 2,000 indigenous villagers, into a tourism haven. Ng Kam-chuen,
a member of South Lantau Rural Committee representing 14 villages in the coastal
area, has been campaigning for two years for the Government to implement a plan
to develop the area. ''We have lived here for generations. We love this place
and do not want to see it become a backwater,'' Mr Ng said. The Planning Department
will study development of the area. One lobby group, Urban Watch, has suggested
the slopes on Lantau could be developed along the lines of coastal housing in
Greece. The 20-month study, which starts in June, will seek ways to strike a balance
between tourism and conservation while controlling the population level. The repackaging
of isolated holiday properties some of which have fallen into dereliction will
be on the agenda, and the offshore Soko Islands, one of which was formerly a refugee
centre and has water and power supplies, will be considered for controlled water
sport development. The study has prompted an outcry, particularly among expatriate
residents in the area who say the proposals will destroy the area's tranquility.
Mr Ng called for patience before the study made recommendations, but noted that
holiday houses run by villagers had low patronage. He said the economic downturn
had taken its toll on many indigenous villagers, with the younger generation forced
to leave to work in urban areas. The chairman of the Travel Industry Council,
Ronnie Yuen Ka-chai, said: ''Just like when the Disney theme park was proposed,
there was strong opposition by green groups. But development and conservation
can go hand in hand." [Source:
SCMP, 6 April 2002] 6.
Open housing design to tenders, say architects
The design office of the Housing Department should be corporatised to compete
with private architectural firms for government housing jobs, an architects' group
has proposed. Chairman of the Association of Architectural Practices Dennis Lau
Wing-kwong said the proposal would mean taxpayers' money would be better spent
and the monopoly on housing block designs by government architects ended. Less
than 20 per cent of Home Ownership Scheme blocks are tendered out to the private
sector for design consultancy. Housing Department architects design the remaining
blocks as well as all rental blocks. Mr Lau said that as the Government was working
towards trimming costs, the corporatisation of the department's design office
could be used as a key example of this policy. He would like to see the design
office, which recruits about 100 architects, separated from department finances
and for it to submit project proposals for bidding with private firms. "It
will require them stating market costs and quoting a market price. They will not
necessarily lose out to the private sector because they have experience doing
housing blocks," Mr Lau said. "But in any case, they would no longer
be guaranteed design work and naturally they would have to increase their efficiency.
It's a good thing for taxpayers." Consultancy fees are estimated at two per
cent of the total $50 billion construction costs of Hong Kong public housing projects
each year, so the private sector could compete with government architects for
an annual $1 billion share of such fees. The association earlier proposed the
department outsource more design projects to the private sector to help it survive
the economic downturn. [Source:
SCMP, 6 April 2002] |  |
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