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for. 1.
Engineering works for Wan Chai Development Phase II 2.
Central - Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor
Link 3.
Sewerage works at Anderson Road gazetted 4.
Draft Tuen Mun Outline Zoning Plan amended 5.
Draft Wan Chai North Outline Zoning Plan announced 6.
Wan Chai facelift given green light 7.
Complex gets off ground at Chek Lap Kok
1. Engineering works for Wan Chai Development Phase II The
Government intends to carry out engineering works to provide land for the construction
of major transport infrastructure and a new waterfront promenade, and to reprovision
the existing cross harbour water mains affected by the Wan Chai Development Phase
II project. The works include dredging and filling the sea-bed to form approximately
28.5 hectares of land; constructing about 3,000 metres of seawall, about 550 metres
of sewage outfall pipelines, about 1,150 metres of cross harbour water mains,
a piled causeway, a piled deck and a piled ferry pier; and demolishing portions
of existing breakwaters. The works, which will affect about 80.2 hectares of foreshore
and sea-bed at Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, and at Victoria Harbour between Wan
Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui, are scheduled to commence in early 2004 for completion
in early 2010. A notice describing the extent of area involved is gazetted today
(April 19). Any person who considers that he has an interest, right or easement
in or over the foreshore and sea-bed involved may submit a written objection to
the Director of Lands on or before June 19, 2002. A notice together with its related
plan can be seen on notice boards posted near the site. The plan is also available
for public inspection at the Lands Department's Survey and Mapping Office, 23
rd floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road; the Wan Chai District
Office, ground floor, 2 O'Brien Road, Wan Chai; and the Eastern District Office,
ground floor, Eastern Law Courts Building, 29 Tai On Street, Sai Wan Ho. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 19 April 2002] 2.
Central - Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link
The Secretary for Transport
proposes to execute the construction of the Central - Wan Chai Bypass and Island
Eastern Corridor Link along the north shore of Hong Kong Island to provide a trunk
road about four-kilometre long linking the existing Rumsey Street Flyover at Central
and Island Eastern Corridor at Causeway Bay. The trunk road project will alleviate
the traffic congestion along the existing Gloucester Road, Harcourt Road and Connaught
Road Central and provide road connections to the future local road network on
the Central and Wan Chai reclamation. A Gazette notice concerning the proposed
works was published today (April 19). Plans and the Scheme of the proposed works
are available for inspection at the following venues: Public
Enquiry Service Centre, Central and Western District Office, Ground floor, Harbour
Building, 38 Pier Road; Public
Enquiry Service Centre, Wan Chai District Office, Ground Floor, 2 O'Brien Road,Wan
Chai; Public Enquiry
Service Centre, Eastern District Office, Ground Floor, Eastern Law Courts Building,29
Tai On Street, Sai Wan Ho; Hong
Kong West District Lands Office, 19th Floor, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road,
Wan Chai; and Hong
Kong East District Lands Office, 19th Floor, Southorn Centre, 130 Hennessy Road,
Wan Chai. Further
enquiries regarding the proposed works can be addressed to Major Works Project
Management Office, Highways Department, Third Floor, Ho Man Tin Government offices,
88 Chung Hau Street, Kowloon and on telephone number 2762 3508. Any person who
wishes to object to the works or the use, or both, is required to address his
objection in writing to the Secretary for Transport, 16th Floor, Murray Building,
Garden Road, Hong Kong not later than June 18, 2002 describing his interest and
the manner in which he alleges that he will be affected by the works or the use. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 19 April 2002] 3.
Sewerage works at Anderson Road gazetted
The Chief Executive in Council has authorised the construction of sewers to meet
the demand for sewerage facilities arising from the proposed housing and school
development at Anderson Road. Sewers of about 4 300 metres will be constructed.
Details of the project were published in the Government Gazette on December 1
and 8, 2000 while the approval for the project was gazetted today (April 19).
A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department said: "The works
are scheduled to commence in early 2003 and will take about five years to complete.
"The major portion of the project will be carried out within the development
area while the remaining works will be conducted in Kwun Tong Road, Po Lam Road,
Lee On Road, Sau Mau Ping Road and Hiu Kwong Street." The construction works
will proceed in conjunction with the road scheme "Development at Anderson
Road - Ancillary Road Works", which has also been authorised by the Chief
Executive in Council. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 19 April 2002] 4.
Draft Tuen Mun Outline Zoning Plan amended
The Town Planning Board (the Board) today (April 19) announced amendments to the
draft Tuen Mun Outline Zoning Plan (OZP). The amendments include the rezoning
of an area at Dragon Inn Court from "Other Specified Uses (Comprehensive
Redevelopment Area)" ("OU(CRA)"), "Green Belt" and "Residential
(Group B)" ("R(B)") to "Residential (Group B)4", the
rezoning of three small pieces of land near Dragon Inn Court from "OU(CRA)"
to "R(B)", and the rezoning of a site at Lok On Pai in Area 59 from
"Government, Institution or Community" ("G/IC") to "Comprehensive
Development Area" ("CDA") and another site along the waterfront
of Lok On Pai from "CDA" to "G/IC". Major technical amendments
to the Notes of the draft OZP include the revision to the Notes for the "Industrial"
zone, deletion of the Notes for the "Comprehensive Redevelopment Area"
from the "Other Specified Uses" zone and addition of a new sub-area
to the Remarks of the Notes for the "R(B)" zone to incorporate the development
restrictions for area designated as "Residential (Group B)4". The draft
Plan No. S/TM/16 incorporating the amendments is now available for public inspection
until May 10, 2002 at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, Tuen Mun and
Yuen Long District Planning Office, Tuen Mun District Office and Tuen Mun Rural
Committee. 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 May 10, 2002. Copies of the draft plan are
available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 19 April 2002] 5.
Draft Wan Chai North Outline Zoning Plan announced
The Town Planning Board (the Board) today (April 19) announced the publication
of a new draft Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) for the Wan Chai North area. The Planning
Scheme Area of the draft Wan Chai North OZP covers about 77 hectares. The Area
provides land for important transport infrastructure, including the proposed Central-Wan
Chai Bypass, the Island Eastern Corridor Link, the North Hong Kong Island Line
and the proposed Fourth Rail Harbour Crossing, as well as for commercial office
developments and government office buildings in Wan Chai District. A spokesman
of the Board said that the OZP included about 26 hectares of land from reclamation.
"The extent of reclamation is the minimum extent of land required to accommodate
essential infrastructure requirements and to allow development of a waterfront
promenade of international standard for the enjoyment of the public," he
said. To provide an attractive setting for civic events and land for both active
and passive recreational activities, 16.6 hectares of land is zoned "Open
Space", which covers the existing open spaces and the future waterfront promenade
that extends from the Central Reclamation Phase III in the west to the eastern
end of the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter. The promenade together with the large
outdoor event space to the east of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
(HKCEC) Extension would become a major tourist attraction and focus for the local
community. The "Open Space (1)" zone adjacent to the HKCEC Extension
will incorporate an underground exhibition hall with supporting facilities and
public vehicle park. A striking feature of the waterfront open space proposals
is the incorporation of a Harbour Park along the existing Causeway Bay Typhoon
Shelter breakwater. It will be a unique, interesting and dynamic public space
to bring people to the Harbour. To enhance the development of the future Wan Chai
waterfront as a tourist, cultural and recreational attraction, 2.56 hectares of
land is zoned "Comprehensive Development Area" for exhibition and entertainment
development incorporating the future North Hong Kong Island Line Exhibition Station
and a public transport interchange. About 14 hectares of land is zoned "Other
Specified Uses" ("OU") for specific uses such as exhibition centre
with commercial development, pier, waterfront related commercial and leisure uses,
sports and recreation club, temple, leisure and entertainment complex, helipad,
petrol filling station and elevated walkway etc. To cater for the provision of
existing and planned GIC facilities within the Area, 10.53 hectares of land is
zoned "Government, Institution or Community" ("GIC"). Areas
covering the existing commercial/office developments to the north of Gloucester
Road and the newly proposed commercial sites on the reclaimed land to the north
of the World Trade Centre are zoned "Commercial" (3.93 hectares). The
proposed developments in the vicinity of the waterfront promenade will be low-rise
to ensure that they are in keeping with the pedestrian environment and the integrity
of Victoria Peak can be maintained. Building height restrictions are stipulated
in the Notes for most of the land use zones on the waterfront. As two areas are
excised from the draft Wan Chai and North Point OZPs for inclusion in the new
draft Wan Chai North OZP for more comprehensive planning, the boundaries of the
Planning Scheme Areas for the former two OZPs have been amended. Apart from these,
an amendment has also been made to the draft Wan Chai OZP by rezoning the existing
petrol filling station at Kennedy Road from "Residential (Group B)"
to "OU" annotated "Petrol Filling Station". The draft Wan
Chai North OZP No. S/H25/1 is now available for public inspection for a period
of two months until 19 June 2002, whereas the draft Wan Chai OZP No. S/H5/20 and
the draft North Point OZP No. S/H8/16 incorporating the amendments for a period
of three weeks until 10 May 2002. These OZPs can be inspected at the Secretariat
of the Town Planning Board and the Hong Kong District Planning Office at the North
Point Government Offices, as well as the Wan Chai District Office and the Eastern
District Office. Any person affected by the draft Wan Chai North OZP, and/or the
amendments made to the draft Wan Chai and North Point OZPs may send a written
objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before 19 June 2002
and 10 May 2002 respectively. Copies of the draft plan are available for sale
at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 19 April 2002] 6.
Wan Chai facelift given green light
The Town Planning Board yesterday approved the government's multibillion-dollar
redevelopment of the north Wan Chai area into a tourist and commercial centre.
The ambitious project - stretching from Arsenal Street on the borders of Admiralty
and Wan Chai and ending on the Causeway Bay-Tin Hau boundary - covers 77 hectares
and will take more than 10 years to complete. Around 26 hectares will be reclaimed
along the waterfront at a cost of about HK$3.9 billion. The plan calls for major
transport infrastructure projects, costing more than HK$23 billion. ``This project
is to create a new boundary for Wan Chai and its waterfront,'' said Ling Kar-kang,
a district planning officer with the Planning Department. Starting in Admiralty,
the vast project will run through Wan Chai to Causeway Bay. It will comprise a
3.5-kilometre waterfront promenade, a 516,500 square foot underground exhibition
hall, a two-hectare park near the Causeway Bay typhoon shelter and an entertainment
area near Victoria Park. ``The waterfront promenade, the exhibition centre, the
Harbour Park [green area] and the entertainment area will be a major tourist attraction,''
Ling said. As for the transport infrastructure, Ling said it would include a new
HK$2 billion road network comprising a Central-Wan Chai bypass with a link to
the Island Eastern Corridor. Other projects involve a HK$5 billion north Hong
Kong Island line running from the Tung Chung MTR line in Central to the Exhibition
Centre, and later to North Point. North Wan Chai Phase 2 will provide the entrance
for a fourth harbour crossing, costing up to HK$10 billion, and will include a
Central to Sha Tin MTR line. A skywalk, from north Wan Chai to the southern tip
of the district, will be the final part of the transport infrastructure link.
As yet, the cost of the project is unknown. ``The aim was to design convenient
ways for walking from south Wan Chai to the Wan Chai waterfront,'' Ling said.
Plans to transform the area began with a feasibility study commissioned in 1987
for the Central and Wan Chai reclamation. The first phase of the reclamation scheme
began in 1994. The remaining work was to be carried out in four phases, although
wrangling delayed the scheme. In 1999, a further feasibility study was commissioned
to review Phase 2, which centres on transport infrastructure. The Committee on
Planning and Land Development endorsed its findings in May, 2001. Two months later,
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa ordered the Town Planning Board to draw up a zoning
plan for the project. Yesterday's announcement of the zoning plan takes the redevelopment
one step closer to reality. A two-month consultation period will follow, before
the government decides on whether to approve the blueprint. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 20 April 2002] 7.
Complex gets off ground at Chek Lap Kok
The Airport Authority has kicked off the development of the first stage of its
new commercial complex after asking international developers to submit expressions
of interest by June 20 to build and manage the facility. Called SkyPlaza, the
1.08 million square foot project will be built opposite the airport express station
and will form the gateway to the 57-hectare SkyCity commercial district at the
northeast corner of the airport island at Chek Lap Kok. The lower floors of the
building will include a 322,800 sq ft retail centre with shops, cafes, an Imax
3D cinema and an aviation museum. A podium will be built to connect with the railway
station, tour group check-in facilities and a bigger bus station. There will be
four eight-storey office blocks above the podium. One of the buildings has been
earmarked as the Airport Authority's new corporate headquarters. Another key tenant
will be the Hong Kong World Trade Centre, which will provide a range of business
services. Airlines and airport-related companies are expected to occupy the remaining
space. AA commercial director Hans Bakker said it would be a ``facility designed
for multiple purposes''. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 20 April 2002] |  |
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