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1. Tenders invited for new boundary bridge

2. Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling Outline Zoning Plan approved

3. Draft Ma Wan Outline Zoning Plan approved

4. Ngau Tam Mei Outline Zoning Plan approved

5. Draft Cheung Sha Wan Outline Zoning Plan amended

1. Tenders invited for new boundary bridge
Hong Kong Government, 30 May 2003

The Highways Department in July will invite tenders from prequalified contractors for the design and construction of the approach viaduct to the new boundary bridge between Lok Ma Chau and Huanggang and associated works.

A notice concerning the invitation was published in the Gazette today (May 30).

The project will meet the growth in cross-boundary traffic between Lok Ma Chau and Huanggang. The contract involves the design and construction of a 250-metre dual two-lane approach viaduct, a 160-metre dual two-lane at-grade ramp to be supported by piles, a 120-metre two-lane overbridge, diversion of a nullah and ancillary works.

Works are expected to start in November 2003 for completion in December 2004.

Contractors meeting the requirements stated in the prequalification document are invited to apply in writing. Joint ventures will also be considered. Prequalification documents can be inspected at, or obtained by writing to:

Chief Engineer/Major Works 3-1, Major Works Project Management Office, Highways Department, 6/F Ho Man Tin Government Offices, 88 Chung Hau Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Applications should be submitted by 12 noon on June 24.

2. Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling Outline Zoning Plan approved
Hong Kong Government, 30 May 2003

The Chief Executive in Council approved the draft Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

A spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (May 30) that the approved OZP provided a statutory land use framework to guide development and redevelopment in the Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling area.

The Planning Scheme Area, covering about 570 hectares, is bounded by Sha Tau Kok Road to the south, Long Ridge (Tsung Shan) and Hung Lung Hang to the west, Frontier Closed Area Boundary to the north and Dog Hill (Cheung Shan) to the east.

The planning intention of the area is to conserve the rural character and control urban sprawl, reduce flood risk and preserve agricultural land, and to achieve coherent planning and control of the open storage and industrial developments.

A total of 266.7ha is zoned "Agriculture" to retain and safeguard agricultural land, farms and fish ponds within the area.

Some 40.6ha are zoned "Village Type Development" to demarcate existing recognised villages and areas suitable for village expansion and 1.3ha are zoned "Residential (Group C)" to reflect the private residential and ancillary garden development approved by the board.

To meet the needs of the local population and provide active and passive recreational opportunities for them, about 17.5ha are zoned "Government, Institution or Community" and 0.5ha is zoned "Open Space".

A total of 124.5ha in the southern part of the area is zoned "Open Storage" to cater for the growing demand for open storage, to regularise the haphazard proliferation of open storage uses in the area and provide for the systematic development of open storage uses that cannot be accommodated in conventional godowns.

About 14.6ha are zoned "Industrial (Group D)" to provide sites for industrial uses with special requirements and encourage the redevelopment of existing open storage and informal industrial developments into properly-designed industrial buildings.

Some 87.4ha, which mainly consist of hillslopes on Dog Hill and Long Ridge and the vegetated knolls and clusters of trees scattered within the area, are zoned "Green Belt" ("GB").

The approved Ping Che and Ta Kwu Ling OZP No S/NE-TKL/7 is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at:

* Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point;

* Sha Tin, Tai Po and North District Planning Office, Planning Department, 13/F, Sha Tin Government Offices, 1 Sheung Wo Che Road, Sha Tin;

* North District Office, 3/F, North District Government Offices, 3 Pik Fung Road, Fanling;

* Ta Kwu Ling District Rural Committee, Ping Che Road, Ta Kwu Ling; and

* Fanling District Rural Committee, 3 Luen Fat Street, Luen Wo Hui, Fanling.

Copies of the approved OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. An electronic version of the plan is viewable from the Town Planning Board's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb.

3. Draft Ma Wan Outline Zoning Plan approved
Hong Kong Government, 30 May 2003

The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Ma Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

"The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment within the Ma Wan and Tang Lung Chau area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (May 30).

The Planning Scheme Area, comprising Ma Wan and Tang Lung Chau, covers about 100.6 hectares of land.

One of the main planning considerations for the area is to locate new noise sensitive areas at a reasonable distance from the Lantau Link. Two pieces of land, totalling about 30.3ha, on the north-eastern and western parts of Ma Wan are zoned "Comprehensive Development Area" ("CDA") to allow for a comprehensive residential development in the north-eastern part and to encourage comprehensive redevelopment of the existing town in the western part of Ma Wan.

A total of 7.8ha at Tin Liu Village is zoned "Village Type Development" ("V") to accommodate the housing demand of indigenous villagers and to rehouse the squatter population and fisherpeople on Ma Wan.

The lowland area of Lau Fa Tsuen and Tai Lung in central Ma Wan and the lowland and reclaimed land to the west of Sha Lau Tong Wan and foothill slopes to the north of Pak Nai Shan are zoned "Other Specified Uses" ("OU") annotated "Recreation and Tourism Related Uses" for low-rise, low-density recreation and tourism-related development such as a theme park, resort hotel, public recreation and tourist attractions. About five hectares of land are also zoned "OU" for specific uses including a highways maintenance area, traditional burial area and a pier.

The existing service reservoir and telephone exchange on Ma Wan, as well as the lighthouse, light beacon and pier on Tang Lung Chau, covering about 0.2ha, are zoned "Government, Institution or Community". Another 1.9ha are zoned "Open Space" ("O") to reserve land for vantage points for viewing the Lantau Link and to support future developments on Ma Wan.

The Tung Wan Beach on the east coast of Ma Wan is also zoned "O". About 31.6ha are zoned "Green Belt" ("GB") to protect the steep coastal strips and vegetated hilly areas from development.

The approved Ma Wan OZP No S/I-MWI/9 is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at the following locations:

* Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road;

* Lantau and Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, 15/F, Sha Tin Government Offices, 1 Sheung Wo Che Road;

* Tsuen Wan District Office, 1/F and 2/F, Tsuen Wan Station Multi-storey Carpark Building, 174-208 Castle Peak Road; and

* Ma Wan Rural Committee, 2 Chun Hoi Road, Ma Wan Island.

Copies of the approved plan are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. An electronic version is viewable from the Town Planning Board's website (http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb).

4. Ngau Tam Mei Outline Zoning Plan approved
Hong Kong Government, 30 May 2003

The Chief Executive in Council approved the draft Ngau Tam Mei Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

A spokesman for the Town Planning Board (TPB) said today (May 30) that the approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide development and redevelopment in the Ngau Tam Mei area.

The Planning Scheme Area, covering about 920.7 hectares, is bounded by Ki Lun Shan Au (Saddle Pass) in the east, San Tin Highway in the north and the west and Lam Tsuen Country Park in the south. According to the 2001 Census, the population of the area was around 4,600. The planned population for the area in 2016 is about 14,900.

Areas designated for residential developments are mainly found along San Tin Highway in the west and southwest. About 53.3 hectares are zoned Comprehensive Development Area (CDA) and intended for comprehensive residential development. The CDA site to the south of Tam Mei Barracks is intended to be developed as a local centre for the Ngau Tam Mei area.

Some 54.1 hectares are zoned Residential (Group C), intended for low-rise and low-density residential schemes with ancillary facilities. Provision is also made for about 27.3 hectares of Residential (Group D), intended for residential upgrading. Very low-rise and low-density residential development may be permitted on application to the TPB.

A total of 37.7 hectares is zoned Village Type Development, covering existing recognized villages and areas reserved for village expansion.

The Industrial (Group D) zone, covering about 7.9 hectares, is intended for upgrading or expanding the existing industrial uses.

Mainly concentrated in the north along San Tin Highway, about 91.8 hectares are zoned Open Storage to cater for the demand of land for open storage uses and to regularise existing open storage uses.

A site of about 0.5 hectare between San Tin Highway and San Tam Road is zoned Other Specified Uses, annotated Electricity Sub-Station, to cater for the development of an electric sub-station to meet local demand.

Two sites comprising about 11 hectares are designated Government, Institution or Community to reflect the existing livestock waste composting plant and Ngau Tam Mei Water Treatment Works.

A total of 43.1 hectares is zoned Recreation to provide for the development of active and passive recreational facilities.

The Green Belt zone of about 319.4 hectares, which covers foothills, lower hill slopes, spurs, isolated knolls, woodland or vegetated land, serves to define the limits of urban and suburban development areas by natural features.

The Conservation Area covering about 258.2 hectares serves to protect the hillslopes with ecological landscapes and topographic features at the southern and eastern portions of the area, as well as give added protection to the Lam Tsuen Country Park.

The approved Ngau Tam Mei OZP No. S/YL-NTM/8 is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at:

* Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15th Floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point;

* Tuen Mun & Yuen Long District Planning Office, 14th Floor, Shatin Government Offices, No. 1 Sheung Wo Che Road, Sha Tin;

* Yuen Long District Office, Yuen Long District Office Building, 269 Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long; and

* San Tin Rural Committee, 7 Main Road, San Tin, Yuen Long, New Territories.

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

5. Draft Cheung Sha Wan Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Government, 30 May 2003

The Town Planning Board today (May 30) announced amendments to the draft Cheung Sha Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The amendments affect the development parameters of the four Residential (Group C) sites along Tai Po Road and Caldecott Road, mainly to reflect the building intensity of the existing and committed developments on the sites.

The draft OZP No. S/K5/25, incorporating the amendments, is available for public inspection during normal office hours at the following locations:

* Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15th floor, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point, Hong Kong;

* Tsuen Wan and West Kowloon District Planning Office, 27th Floor, Tsuen Wan Government Offices, 38 Sai Lau Kok Road; and

* Sham Shui Po District Office, Ground Floor, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road.

Any person affected by the amendments may submit a written objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board on or before June 20, 2003.

Copies of the draft OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centre in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be seen on the Town Planning Board's website (http://www.info.gov.hk/tpb).