SKYLINE Technologies -- News Update ( 5 October 2002 )

5 October 2002

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1. Draft Shek Kip Mei Outline Zoning Plan amended
2. Draft Cheung Sha Wan Outline Zoning Plan amended
3. Draft Ho Man Tin Outline Zoning Plan amended
4. Fears over foundation plans for Disney park
5. Land freeze is no answer, experts say

1. Draft Shek Kip Mei Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Government, 4 October 2002

The Town Planning Board today (October 4) announced the amendments to the draft Shek Kip Mei Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The amendments to the draft OZP mainly involve the rezoning of the Shek Kip Mei Central Playground at Wai Chi Street from "Open Space" to "Residential (Group A)" and an area adjacent to the Shek Kip Mei Mass Transit Railway Station from "Residential (Group A)" to "Open Space" for reprovisioning of the playground.

The draft Shek Kip Mei OZP No. S/K4/15 incorporating the amendments is 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;

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

* Sham Shui Po District Office, G/F, 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 October 25, 2002.

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

2. Draft Cheung Sha Wan Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Government, 4 October 2002

The Town Planning Board today (October 4) announced amendments to the draft Cheung Sha Wan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The amendments mainly involve the rezoning of two sites at Fat Tseung Street from "Comprehensive Development Area (1)" and "Government, Institution or Community" ("G/IC") respectively to "Residential (Group E)" and "Residential (Group A)" to reflect the planning intention for residential use.

The Piper's Hill Ultra High Level Fresh Water Service Reservoir and Salt Water Tank is also rezoned from "Green Belt" to "G/IC".

The draft Cheung Sha Wan OZP No. S/K5/24 incorporating the amendments 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;

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

* Sham Shui Po District Office, G/F, 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 October 25, 2002.

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

3. Draft Ho Man Tin Outline Zoning Plan amended
Hong Kong Government, 4 October 2002

The Town Planning Board today (October 4) announced amendments to the draft Ho Man Tin Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

The amendments to the OZP involve the rezoning of a Government site of about 0.02 hectare abutting Victory Avenue from "Open Space" to "Residential (Group A)".

A minor relaxation clause for height restrictions for the "Residential (Group B)1" and "Residential (Group C)" zones is incorporated to allow greater design flexibility.

The draft Ho Man Tin OZP No. S/K7/16 incorporating the above amendments is now available for public inspection during normal office hours at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, the Kowloon District Planning Office and the Kowloon City District Office.

Any person affected by the amendments may submit a written objection to the Secretary of the Town Planning Board, 15/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, on or before October 25, 2002.

4. Fears over foundation plans for Disney park
EXCLUSIVE by ANTOINE SO, SCMP 5 October 2002

Disney plans to do away with traditional piling for some of its buildings at its Hong Kong theme park, alarming a leading architecture expert.

Hong Kong Disneyland has opted to use the less expensive raft foundations - a flat concrete base sunk into the soil - for four of its buildings at the $22 billion complex, due to open at Penny's Bay in 2005 or 2006.

The company's proposals would mean a departure from the piling method used in almost all reclaimed land projects in the territory.

Professor Patrick Lau Sau-shing, of the University of Hong Kong's department of architecture, said the government should be careful over the project's raft foundations.

Hong Kong Disneyland confirmed that the raft method would be used for two buildings inside the theme park and two outside. The company said there would be more than 40 buildings at the park.

Managing director John Verity said that after an intensive geotechnical and structural investigation of the site he was confident the raft method would work and was safe.

He declined to say what the four buildings were and whether they would house rides. Mr Verity said cost was one of many considerations for using the raft foundations.

These foundations were commonly used decades ago in Hong Kong but the piling method came into force as buildings became higher. Disney's use of the raft system is believed to be rare on a reclaimed site.

Mr Verity argued that raft foundations were ideal for low-rise, lightweight structures such as those in the Magic Kingdom intended for Penny's Bay.

"We attach great importance to safety and make sure all structures are safe and up to local building codes. We have carried out independent tests by certified engineers who have confirmed to us that the load issue is not a concern," he said.

Professor Lau said although Disney's low-rise buildings did not present much of a weight problem for the raft foundation, the "dynamic force" involved in the mechanical rides contained in any of these buildings should be looked at.

A Disney spokeswoman said painstaking assessment showed that even the dynamic load brought by any possible impact from mechanical rides was "inconsequential".

Professor Lau, who is also a member of the Housing Authority, said: "There may be more than sufficient data saying that the raft foundation is safe. But look at the piling problems we have had in public housing. Mistakes in foundation work can be disastrous.

"We are talking about a major project for Hong Kong and we invest lots of money in it. The government must be very careful."

The former president of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, John Luk Wang-kwong, said raft foundations worked on the principle of making a lightweight building "float" on a raft of concrete.

"It's like using just the table-top to put buildings on it. If the soil is firm enough, floating it on a raft is okay. Otherwise, piling should be the preferred option," Mr Luk said.

An associate professor of civil engineering at Polytechnic University, Luk Shun-tim, said if a building was light, piles may not be necessary in some cases.

A spokeswoman for the Buildings Department said there were no specific government rules covering raft foundations.

She said the department had so far approved 17 general building plans submitted by Disney.

5. Land freeze is no answer, experts say
SOPHIA WONG and ALEX LO, SCMP 5 October 2002

The suspension of land sales is not the best way to prop up property prices, according to researchers and academics.

The Liberal Party has proposed freezing land sales for one or two years as the government looks at ways of reviving the property market.

UBS Warburg director of research Franklin Lam said: "There is no need to suspend land sales. The market demand for private housing has improved since the government substantially slashed the Home Ownership Scheme flat sales in June."

He estimated the potential private housing supply amounted to about 83,000 units.

"They will be taken up in two to three years. The developers have to replenish their land banks from now on to secure their future profit," he said.

He expected private housing demand would rise to 38,000 units a year from the existing 20,000 units after HOS flat sales were reduced to 2,000 a year. He said the average annual take-up for HOS units was about 20,000 units in the past four years.

"The only thing the government should do is to retreat from market intervention," he said.

The head of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's economics department, Leonard Cheng Kwok-Hon, said the government needed to be flexible in holding back land sales.

"It does not need to stop all land sales but could reduce them to match the changing economic outlook," he said. "[Reducing or halting land sales] is probably the right direction to take but the trick is to determine by how much and how long."

Professor Cheng declined to speculate on what the government would do.

"The officials come up and say they want to lift the property market," he said. "How much thinking and research went into that? It sounds like something they came up with out of the blue without much planning. So I don't want to predict how this government will act."

Just $4.2 billion of a total $175.6 billion in government revenues in 2001-02 came from land premiums. In 2000-01, $23.75 billion of $225 billion revenues came from land premiums.