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1. Industrial land use speeded up

2. Developers may get an extra year

1. Industrial land use speeded up
Eli Lau, The Standard 17 June 2003

The government has introduced a simpler application process with standard charges to encourage faster conversion of Hong Kong's 197 hectares of run-down industrial land into commercial use.

The system, which waives some restrictions normally applying to conversion of property use, levies standard rates ranging from HK$172 to HK$308 per square metre a year, or HK$1,560 to HK$2,800 psm in lump sum payment based on the premises' age, and is expected to shorten the application process from seven months to two months.

The Lands Department has temporarily relaxed restrictions contained in government leases or land grants to encourage conversion of industrial premises into commercial use. Under the present policy, to obtain a waiver, fees are generally assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The annual difference in full market land value before and after the waiver is also considered.

Lands Department assistant director (valuation) Francis Ng said the simplified process was intended to see idle industrial premises put to use quickly. Revenue was not the main consideration in the change, he said.

``The benefit of the new procedure is that owners can be certain about the amount of waiver fees that they are required to pay if their applications are approved,'' he said.

2. Developers may get an extra year
Staff reporter, 17 June 2003

The government is considering a proposal to extend by a year the construction period for new residential projects.

The proposal - believed to have been put forward by the Real Estate Developers' Association - is an attempt to slow the release of flats because of the current oversupply.

Director of Lands Patrick Lau was quoted by the Hong Kong Economic Journal as saying the government had yet to decide on the proposal, submitted before the Sars outbreak.

It is understood that developers intend to slow the construction of residential developments so as to improve the timing of their sales.

Under the existing regulations, developers can apply to extend the construction period for individual projects with ``reasonable explanation''. A cash penalty is imposed.

Sources said the government had agreed in principle to the one-year extension, applicable to all residential projects currently under construction. New projects would be granted construction terms of up to six years.