1 Roadworks at Town Centre South and Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O, gazetted
Hong Kong Government, 25 April 2008
The Government today (April 25) published a notice in the Gazette on proposed road works for the future development at Town Centre South and Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O.
The works include constructing some roads with single two-lane carriageway, single one-lane carriageway, and dual two-lane carriageway; constructing junctions, footpaths, cycle tracks, cycle parking areas and amenity areas associated to the proposed roads; permanent closure and demolition of Lai Ngok Street and a section of Chi Shin Street; and ancillary works including drainage and water works and provision of traffic aids and street lighting.
Some sections of the existing carriageways, footpaths and cycle tracks will be temporarily or permanently closed, reconstructed and demolished.
The plan and scheme of the works are available for public inspection at the following government offices during office hours:
(i) Central and Western District Office, Public Enquiry Service Centre, Unit 5, Ground Floor, The Center, 99 Queen's Road Central;
(ii) Sai Kung District Office, Tseung Kwan O Sub-office, Public Enquiry Service Centre, 1/F, King Lam Neighbourhood Community Centre, King Lam Estate, Tseung Kwan O ; and
(iii) District Lands Office, Sai Kung, 3rd Floor, Sai Kung Government Offices, 34 Chan Man Street, Sai Kung.
Any person who wishes to object to the proposed works or the use, or both, should write to the Secretary for Transport and Housing, 16th Floor, Murray Building, Garden Road, Hong Kong, on or before June 24.
2 Approved The Peak Area Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Government, 25 April 2008
The Town Planning Board (the Board) today (April 25) announced amendments to the approved The Peak Area Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
The amendments involve rezoning a site at the Peak School from "Open Space" to "Government, Institution or Community" and designating it as a non-building area; rezoning a site at Peak Road from "Commercial/Residential" to "Commercial (3)" and two sites at Stubbs Road from "Residential (Group C)1" ("R(C)1") and "Green Belt" to "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Historical Building Preserved for Cultural, Community and Commercial Uses" and "R(C)1" respectively, as well as making amendments to the Notes of the Plan in accordance with the revised Master Schedule of Notes to Statutory Plans endorsed by the Board.
The draft The Peak Area OZP No. S/H14/8, incorporating the amendments, is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters in North Point and Sha Tin, the Hong Kong District Planning Office, the Central and Western District Office and the Wan Chai District Office.
Any person can make written representations in respect of the amendments to the Secretary of the Board on or before June 25, 2008. Representations made to the Board will be available for public inspection.
Copies of the draft The Peak Area OZP No. S/H14/8 are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Board's website at www.info.gov.hk/tpb/.
3 Approved Tsim Sha Tsui Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Government, 25 April 2008
The Town Planning Board today (April 25) announced amendments to the approved Tsim Sha Tsui Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
The amendments mainly involve rezoning various sites mainly bounded by Chatham Road South, Kimberley Road, Haiphong Road, Kowloon Park Drive and Middle Road from "Commercial" ("C") to "C(6)", a site to the south of Salisbury Road from "C" to "C(7)", two sites to the west of Canton Road from "C" to "C(8)" and "C(9)" respectively, Scout Path from "G/IC" to 'Road' and a site to the south of Haiphong Road from 'Road' to "G/IC(1)"; imposing new building height restrictions for various zones, and making corresponding technical amendments to the Notes of the OZP.
The draft Tsim Sha Tsui OZP No. S/K1/23 incorporating the amendments is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters in North Point and Sha Tin, the Tsuen Wan and West Kowloon District Planning Office and the Yau Tsim Mong District Office.
Any person can make written representation in respect of the amendments to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before June 25, 2008. Representations made to the Town Planning Board will be available for public inspection.
Copies of the draft OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the OZP can be viewed at the Town Planning Board’s website at www.info.gov.hk/tpb
4 Contract awarded for construction of disinfection facilities at Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works
Hong Kong Government, 25 April 2008
The Drainage Services Department (DSD) today (April 25) awarded a contract for the construction of disinfection facilities at Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works (SCISTW).
It is the first construction contract under Stage 2A of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS). The works will commence on April 29 this year for completion in October next year. The cost involved is HK$108 million.
The construction of disinfection facilities at SCISTW will significantly improve the water quality off the Tsuen Wan beaches by disinfecting the SCISTW effluent, reducing the E. coli level in the treated discharge.
In parallel, the DSD is constructing new sewers in the Sham Tseng area to improve the local sewerage networks and to intercept flows from unsewered areas which are also polluting the Tsuen Wan beaches. The completion of the disinfection facilities at SCISTW and the local sewerage improvement works will allow the re-opening of the affected Tsuen Wan beaches at the earliest opportunity.
The HATS is a major sewerage infrastructure project in Hong Kong. The commissioning of HATS Stage 1 in late 2001, which treats about 75% of the sewage discharged into Victoria Harbour, has brought significant improvement in water quality, particularly to the eastern and central parts of the harbour.
Upon the commissioning of HATS Stage 2A, targeted for 2014, the remaining 25% of sewage discharging into the harbour, generated from the northern and western sides of Hong Kong Island, will be collected for chemical treatment and disinfection. This will further improve the water quality in Victoria Harbour.
Detailed planning and design of other components of HATS Stage 2A are progressing satisfactorily and the main construction works of the project are targeted to begin in 2009.
Details of the HATS are available from the website, www.cleanharbour.gov.hk.
5 Property chief hopes to sell Mong Kok tower
Bonnie Chen, The Standard, 25 April 2008
Selling the Trade and Industry Department Tower in Mong Kok rather than renting part out would result in a better deal for the government, property administrator Keith Kwok Ka-keung said.
Kwok told lawmakers yesterday the tower should be sold in five years, with the government gaining the highest return from the sale instead of renting part of it for commercial purposes.
The property chief was appearing at the public hearing of the Legislative Council's Public Accounts Committee on use of government property. The hearing came on the heels of the Audit Commission's criticism that the Government Property Agency has missed a money-raising opportunity through the renting out of the tower's lower floors to maximize returns.
"If we need to relocate government offices from there and to transform the area into a shopping arcade, we need to spend an extra HK$8.5 million," Kwok said, adding that since the trade department will move to the Kai Tak government complex in 2013, it would be more cost effective to sell the whole building by then instead of renting part of it now.
Director of Audit Benjamin Tang Kwok-bun argued that Queensway Plaza in Admiralty is a good example of how well a government building can be run. "Queensway Plaza is similar to the Mong Kok tower as there is also a footbridge linking the building with others," he said. Kwok explained, however, that the tower was used by government offices when bought in 1990 while Queensway Plaza was designed as a shopping arcade.
6 Height restrictions could threaten plans for Polytechnic's tower
Olga Wong and Yvonne Liu, SCMP 26 April 2008
Hong Kong Polytechnic University's HK$400 million "innovation tower" could be threatened by height restrictions proposed for Tsim Sha Tsui by the Town Planning Board yesterday.
The height of the proposed tower - intended to house the school of design and a museum showcasing local and international design classics - is more than 70 metres. But the new restriction proposed for the campus is only 45 metres.
The tower was designed by internationally renowned architect Zaha Hadid, who won a competition held by the university. The architect was the first female recipient of the coveted Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is regarded in architectural circles as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize.
Building plans for the tower have not yet been approved. Construction is scheduled to start next year, with completion 2011.
Victor Lo Chung-wing, chairman of the Polytechnic University council, said last year that the building would be a meeting place for all disciplines studied at the university.
The university is allowed to raise objections to the height restrictions in the two-month public consultation period.
Architect Vincent Ng Wing-shun, a member of the Harbourfront Enhancement Committee, welcomed the restrictions and said they followed harbour planning guidelines.
The guidelines, drafted by the committee, recommend that building heights should remain low along the harbour and increase inwards to the city centre. "A stepped-height environment would facilitate better air ventilation," he said.
But he warned that the new restrictions would not apply to projects that had already obtained approval from the Buildings Department.
One example is a hotel proposed by New World Development on the harbourfront. The hotel, 265 metres high, will be built at the New World Centre after its department store is moved in July. Kim Chan Kim-on, vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, said he was worried that the uniform height of 60 metres proposed along the harbourfront would affect Hong Kong's cityscape.
"Buildings of various heights form a beautiful and unique cityscape when you look at Tsim Sha Tsui from the Eastern Island Corridor," Mr Chan said, adding that the government should consider minor relaxations on height limits in individual cases.
Charles Chan Chiu-kwok, managing director of Savills Valuation and Professional Services, agreed that a uniform height of 60 metres in East Tsim Sha Tsui would create a monotonous look.
He said the Hong Kong Island waterfront was more attractive than in Kowloon because of the different building heights.
With the new height restriction, building owners would have no incentive to redevelop their properties, Mr Chan said.
And while developers in foreign countries could get compensation if they lost out due to government rules, developers in Hong Kong would not.
