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for. 1.
Approved Kau Lung Hang Outline Zoning Plan referred
back 2.
Tung Chung Town Centre Area Outline Zoning Plan referred
back 3.
Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau Outline Zoning Plan referred
back 4.
Four draft outline zoning plans approved 5.
Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines Revised
6.
New World profit at $1.28b amid revamp 7.
1,000 reasons for extension: Tien 8.
Five vie for Tiu Keng Leng project 9.
Developer to raise prices 3pc 10.
Mong Kok property scheduled for $220m redevelopment 11.
Link up to my bridge, Wu tells planners 12.
Airport, rail firms back western link 13.
Five bid for Tseung Kwan O MTR deal
1. Approved Kau Lung Hang Outline Zoning Plan referred
back
Hong
Kong Government, 18 October 2002
The Chief Executive in Council has referred the approved Kau Lung Hang Outline
Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/NE-KLH/5 to the Town Planning Board for amendment. Amendments
to the approved OZP are necessary to reflect the latest development proposals
in the Kau Lung Hang area. The
OZP incorporating the amendments will be exhibited for public inspection under
the provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance. The
Kau Lung Hang OZP was last approved by the Chief Executive in Council on February
5, 2002.
2. Tung Chung Town Centre Area Outline Zoning Plan referred back
Hong
Kong Government, 18 October 2002 The
Chief Executive in Council has referred the approved Tung Chung Town Centre Area
Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/I-TCTC/8 to the Town Planning Board for amendment.
Amendments to
the approved OZP are necessary to reflect the latest development proposals in
the Tung Chung Town Centre area. The
OZP incorporating the amendments will be exhibited for public inspection under
the provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance. The
Tung Chung Town Centre Area OZP was last approved by the Chief Executive in Council
on April 30, 2002.
3. Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau Outline Zoning Plan referred back
Hong
Kong Government, 18 October 2002 The
Chief Executive in Council has referred the approved Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau
Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/H15/17 to the Town Planning Board for amendment.
Amendments to
the OZP are necessary to reflect the latest development proposals in Aberdeen
and Ap Lei Chau. The
OZP incorporating the amendments will be exhibited for public inspection under
the provisions of the Town Planning Ordinance. The
Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau OZP was last approved by the Chief Executive in Council
on June 11, 2002.
4. Four draft outline zoning plans approved
Hong Kong
Government, 18 October 2002 The
Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Tai Tam and Shek O Outline Zoning
Plan (OZP), Chek Lap Kok OZP, Lamma Island OZP and Stonecutters Island OZP. A
spokesman for the Town Planning Board (the Board) said today (October 18) the
four draft plans were first approved by the Chief Executive in Council between
June 2000 and May 2001. The four approved plans were referred to the Board for
amendment under the Town Planning Ordinance on September 25, 2001. Amendments
to the covering notes of the four OZPs were made mainly to clarify the Board's
intention with respect to "existing use" in the Planning Scheme Areas.
Besides, another
amendment to the Stonecutters Island OZP was revision of the Notes for the "Industrial"
zone to expand the scope of uses to be permitted within these zones to cater for
information technology and telecommunications industries as well as other supporting
industrial-related activities, and to provide more flexibility to cater for public
entertainment and educational institutional uses. No
objection was received when the four draft plans incorporating the above amendments
were exhibited for public inspection. The
four approved plans are exhibited for public inspection during normal office hours
at the Secretariat of the Town Planning Board, 15/F, North Point Government Offices,
333 Java Road. The
approved Tai Tam and Shek O OZP No. S/H18/6 is also available for public inspection
at the Hong Kong District Planning Office, 14/F, North Point Government Offices
and the Southern District Office, G/F, Ocean Court, 3 Aberdeen Praya Road. The
approved Chek Lap Kok OZP No. S/I-CLK/5 is also available for public inspection
at the Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office, 15/F, Sha Tin Government
Offices, 1 Sheung Wo Che Road; the Islands District Office, 20/F, Harbour Building,
38 Pier Road; and the Islands District Office, Mui Wo Sub-office, G/F, Mui Wo
Government Offices, 2 Ngan Kwong Wan Road, Mui Wo. The
approved Lamma Island OZP No. S/I-LI/4 is also available for public inspection
at the Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office, the Islands District Office,
and the Lamma Island (North) Rural Committee and the Lamma Island (South) Rural
Committee. The
approved Stonecutters Island OZP No. S/SC/6 is also available for public inspection
at the Tsuen Wan and West Kowloon District Planning Office, 27/F, Tsuen Wan Government
Offices, 38 Sai Lau Kok Road; the Sham Shui Po District Office, G/F, Cheung Sha
Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road; and the Kwai Tsing District Office,
10/F, Kwai Hing Government Offices Building, 166-174 Hing Fong Road. Copies
of the four approved plans are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres
in Yau Ma Tei and North Point.
5. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines Revised
Hong
Kong Government, 18 October 2002 Two
chapters of the 'Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines' (HKPSG) concerning
the provision of community facilities and miscellaneous planning standards and
guidelines have been revised, a spokesman for the Planning Department said today
(October 18). The
revision of Chapter 3 was made mainly to reflect the Government's policy initiatives
regarding the provision of additional education opportunities at senior secondary/post-secondary
levels and the pursuit of more flexible school design. A
new section in Chapter 11 about the use of land beneath flyovers/footbridges gives
general guidance on uses considered acceptable, conditionally acceptable and unacceptable.
The spokesman
said the guidelines would be for general reference rather than a technical manual.
The HKPSG, which
sets out the criteria for determining the scale, location and site requirements
of various land uses, is applied in planning studies, preparation and revision
of town plans, and development control. It
has eleven chapters, each devoted to particular aspects of land uses and facilities.
The revised chapters
can now be viewed at the Planning Department's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/planning.
6. New World profit at $1.28b amid revamp
Jonathan
Tam, The Standard 19 October 2002 New
World Development (NWD), which is expected to unveil a reorganisation plan shortly,
said yesterday its full-year profit surged 27 times from a year ago, helped by
a one-off gain from the sale of the Regent Hotel. Net
profit rose to HK$1.28 billion, or 60 cents a share, for the 12 months ending
June 30, from the restated HK$46.4 million, or 2 cents a share, a year ago. That
was lower than the HK$1.46 billion forecast in a poll of 23 analysts by Multex
Global Estimates. It proposed a final dividend of 10 cents. ``Despite
a sluggish macro-economic environment in Hong Kong, the group's property sales
were satisfactory,'' the company said. It
was NWD's first profit increase in five years. Developers have suffered a 60 per
cent drop in property value since the Asia financial crisis in 1998. Sales
of NWD, which runs property, construction, hotel, infrastructure, transport, and
telecom businesses, shrank 6 per cent to HK$22.87 million from HK$24.28 billion. Property
sales fetched HK$4.3 billion, the company said, including sales of wholly owned
apartments at Monte Carlton and Sereno Verde, partly owned apartments at Villa
Carlton, Tung Chung Crescent and the Belcher's and the HK$2 billion Regent sale.
Rental returns amounted to HK$1.6 billion, construction and engineering HK$8.2
billion and hotels and restaurants HK$1.6 billion. The
company expects to have eight residential projects, or more than 6,400 apartments,
ready for sale in the coming financial year. On
restructuring, the company said only that it would hold a briefing session soon. Under
the revamp plan, NWD is expected to inject its 51 per cent-owned subsidiary New
World Services (NWS) into Pacific Ports, a 75 per cent-owned unit of New World
Infrastructure (NWI), in which NWD holds 54.25 per cent. The
asset injection is believed to amount to about HK$20 billion. In
return, Pacific Ports is said to be planning to sell new shares and convertible
bonds to pay for the assets. At the same time, NWD will distribute NWI shares
to its shareholders, so the New World group parent, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises,
will gain direct control of NWI with a stake of about 21.4 per cent. Salomon
Smith Barney analyst Robert Fong said the changes would make the corporate structure
clearer, with all infrastructure businesses under Pacific Ports. NWI
might then become a technology-media-telecom company, paving the way for NWD to
inject its telecom assets in the future. The
reorganisation is believed to be a move to slash the HK$29.5 billion debt that
the company piled up for its investment in bus services and technology. NWD
said its borrowing costs dropped 18 per cent to HK$2 billion during the past financial
year from HK$2.45 billion a year earlier, helped by the sale of the Regent - now
called the Inter-Continental. NWD
said its New World Mobility unit had also made a net profit, without disclosing
the amount. Its subscriber base exceeded 720,000 as of June with average revenue
per user of HK$260. Now it has 770,000 subscribers. The number of fixed-line subscribers
doubled over the past year to 102,000, it said. Trading of NWD, NWI and Pacific
Ports shares was suspended on Thursday. Meanwhile,
New World China Land, 72 per cent of which is owned by NWD, said full-year net
profit rose 156 per cent to HK$137 million, or 9.2 cents a share, from HK$53.6
million, or 3.65 cents a share, a year ago. It proposed a final dividend of 2
cents a share. Sales rose 60 per cent to HK$939.4 million from HK$587.3 million.
Financial costs dropped 65.3 per cent due to lower interest rates. The
company's shares fell 8 cents or 4.91 per cent to close at HK$1.55.
7. 1,000 reasons for extension: Tien
Joyce Li, The
Standard 19 October 2002 The
need for an extension to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan
Chai was graphically illustrated yesterday when it was learnt that more than 1,000
potential participants were excluded from a toy and gift fair being held at the
venue. In the
face of mounting calls from exhibitors for a larger exhibition venue, the government
was now studying the need for an extension to the centre that could be expected
to be completed five to 10 years from now, legislator and Executive Councillor
James Tien said yesterday. Speaking
after the opening ceremony of the 11th Hong Kong International Toys and Gifts
Show and the 10th Asian Gifts, Premium and Household Products Show, Tien said
more than 1,000 potential exhibitors had been unable to join the four-day show
due to the limited floor area. ``We've
been told by many exhibitors that the space offered by the exhibition centre is
insufficient,'' Tien said. ``We still see demand from the market even when the
old and new wings of the convention centre have already been fully booked by exhibitors.'' Tien
said the government was conducting research - to be firmed up about a year from
now - on the possibility of building a third phase of the exhibition centre on
the site of a bus stop opposite the ferry pier. He
said he hoped the project would be completed in less than a decade. ``I
hope the extension plan will not be delayed until 10 years from now,'' he said,
adding that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa also backed the project. ``Although
[the centre] only has an average use rate of 30 per cent to 40 per cent, the venue
is always fully booked during peak months,'' Tien said. A
design study on the third-phase development, being carried out by architects Wong
and Ouyang, is due for completion by the end of this year. But
Tien refused to disclose details of the project, saying the total investment had
yet to be determined. Trade
Development Council spokesman William Cheung earlier revealed plans to invite
the private sector to develop the complex. Phase one and two of the centre were
developed and overseen by developer New World. A
current extension plan calls for two halls, each with 15,000 square metres of
floor space, to be built. The extension, costing HK$2 billion, would include a
massive underground truck park for 100 vehicles to facilitate the unloading and
loading of exhibition materials. The development plan also includes a 1,000-bed
hotel and a shopping centre. Fair
organiser Kenfair International general manager Henry Fong said 3,054 exhibitors
from Hong Kong, China, India and Taiwan had occupied a total of 4,559 booths at
the two current shows. More
than 60,000 visitors were expected during the four days. Some
of the excluded exhibitors have advertised in Kenfair's newly introduced trade
magazine MegAsia. Advertising
in the publication is expected to generate revenue of HK$2 million for the group
next year.
8. Five vie for Tiu Keng Leng project
Eli Lau, The
Standard 19 October 2002 Just
five developers from a possible 16 submitted tenders yesterday for the HK$6 billion
Tiu Keng Leng Station retail-residential project on the MTR Corp's Tseung Kwan
O extension. The
bidders are believed to be Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Sino Land, Kowloon
Development, Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Henderson Land Development. SHKP,
Sino Land, Cheung Kong and Henderson Land would all go solo on the project, while
Kowloon Development confirmed it had filed a joint bid with parent company Polytec. It
is understood that Wharf Holdings, Kerry Properties, K Wah Properties, Hang Lung
Properties, Swire Properties, HKR International, Chinachem Group and Nan Fung
Development were among the 16 developers that were invited to bid for the Tiu
Keng Leng project earlier this month. The
development - the last project to be offered by the MTRC this year - comprises
1,676 apartments on a gross floor area of 1.15 million square feet and retail
space covering 140,000-180,000 square feet in the first phase. The
winning bidder will have to pay a HK$770 million ``foundation construction fee''
to the MTRC for work on the foundations and structure of the shopping mall, along
with HK$1.03 billion land premium, accounting for HK$776 per sq ft. Another five
towers providing 2,096 apartments will be built in the second phase, covering
a gross floor area of about 1.4 million sq ft. MTRC
director Thomas Ho said the corporation would launch a new project at Tseung Kwan
O Area 86 next year, but had yet to decide the exact timing. He
explained that Area 86 development was originally planned to be divided into 14
phases for development but this plan may change. Meanwhile,
it is understood that the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation is expected to announce
tenders next week for the 1.5 million sq ft residential-retail project at Ho Tung
Lau, Sha Tin. The Ho Tung Lau project will include five towers providing 1,560
flats. Ho said
the railway corporations maintained close communication with developers so tenders
for their projects were launched in an orderly fashion. Market
watchers believe the two corporations intend to roll out their property projects
before the government releases its new housing policy - expected to include measures
to boost slumping property prices. The
corporations have been criticised for oversupplying flats to the market, contributing
to a fall in prices.
9. Developer to raise prices 3pc
Eli Lau, The Standard
19 October 2002 Cheung
Kong (Holdings) plans to raise the price of the next batch of its Hampton Place
flats by as much as 3 per cent as the government looks for ways to prop up the
ailing property market. The
company has already reaped HK$600 million from the initial sale of 308 units at
the development in Tai Kok Tsui. Sales
manager David Wan said the exact size of the increase would depend on the market's
response to the sale of eight flats to be launched today. The eight units are
being offered at an average price of HK$2,842 per square foot, or between HK$1.81
million and HK$2.03 million each - 1.3 per cent higher than the previous batch. Wan
believes the company could fetch about HK$2 billion if all 880 flats at Hampton
Place are sold. Last
month, Cheung Kong raised prices at Banyan Garden, Victoria Towers, Nob Hill and
Hampton Place by 3-5 per cent after the government said it planned to implement
measures to stabilise slumping property prices. Other
developers followed suit, including the consortium of Sun Hung Kai Properties,
Henderson Land Development and Luk Hoi Tung, which increased prices of its Aegean
Coast flats in Tuen Mun by 3 per cent. Henderson
Land and New World Development also added 2-3 per cent to prices for their Sereno
Verde flats in Yuen Long. Meanwhile,
Kerry Properties is offering homebuyers at its luxury Cliveden project in Tsuen
Wan a new preferential package from Standard Chartered Bank. Under the scheme,
buyers only have to pay the interest during the period before they move into their
new flats. The
scheme particularly targets buyers who are still burdened by mortgage repayments
for their existing homes. The
Tsuen Wan project, jointly developed by Kerry Properties and Sino Land, provides
210 flats measuring between 978 sq ft and 1,488 sq ft.
10. Mong Kok property scheduled for $220m redevelopment
Michael
Ng, The Standard 19 October 2002 The
Urban Renewal Authority has announced it will spend HK$220 million to redevelop
a 50-year-old property in Mong Kok. As
part of its five-year corporate plan and the fifth redevelopment programme which
commenced this year, the redevelopment of the building at the junction of Reclamation
and Arran streets, will affect 120 households, 300 residents and 11 retail shops. URA
district development director Stephen Ng said yesterday the per unit price for
repurchasing property had not yet been decided. ``We
will refer to up-to-date property prices when we launch our purchase offers to
flat owners,'' he said. ``Such evaluation will be conducted in a few months time,
when seven individual surveyors finish their assessments and report on the market
value of those affected units to URA.'' A
URA spokesman said the authority would decide the means for redevelopment of the
site - such as through a joint venture, selling it to a private developer or by
the URA itself - in 2004. The
three-storey building, comprising seven blocks, was built in the late 1940s and
covers a site area of 533 square metres. It was one of the 25 priority urban renewal
projects announced by the former Land Development Corporation in 1998. There are
24 parties with interests in the property, including four single-block owners. Ng
estimated the acquisition cost would amount to HK$92 million. URA
staff have already commenced a survey of occupants. Residents living in the blocks
generally support the redevelopment as it can help to improve their poor living
environment. ``It's
hot and stuffy here. And as our flat does not have any toilet, it is very inconvenient
for us to have a five-minute walk to the nearest public toilet,'' said Mrs Tong,
31, one of several tenants in a 700 sq ft unit. Tong,
who pays HK$2,000 a month for her room, hopes to find accommodation nearby but
fears she will not be able to afford the higher rents charged for the available
public housing flats in the area. However,
owners of the retail shops in the building are concerned the relocation will affect
their business. ``It
will pose a threat to our business if we are required to relocate our outlet,''
said Mr Liu, the owner of a block and a shop.
11. Link up to my bridge, Wu tells planners
Staff reporter,
The Standard 19 October 2002 Hopewell
Holdings chairman Gordon Wu called yesterday for government infrastructure planning
to be linked to his proposed Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai superbridge. Wu,
who is also Port and Maritime Board chairman, made the call as he and other opponents
voiced objections to the proposed Route 10 highway at a Legco transport panel. He
said planning for Route 10, linking Lantau with the north-western New Territories
and ultimately Shenzhen via the new Western Corridor, was outdated and inefficient. Opponents,
including the Route 3 company in which Sun Hung Kai has a 50 per cent stake -
and which says Route 10 would duplicate its highway - presented more than 1,700
signatures objecting to the plan. But
Deputy Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works Paul Tang said the bureau
planned to ask Legco for funding for Route 10 in the first quarter of next year. 12.
Airport, rail firms back western link
DENISE TSANG
and NG KANG-CHUNG, SCMP 19 October 2002 
Hong
Kong's two rail corporations and the Airport Authority have formed a united front
to lobby the government for a 9km road-rail link between Chek Lap Kok and Tuen
Mun. The Mass
Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC), Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC)
and the authority want the government to commission a feasibility study into the
alternative link, sources said. The
link - a bridge, tunnel or combination of both that would create a rail loop around
the New Territories - would replace the Tsing Lung Bridge to the west, a key element
in the controversial Route 10 highway. MTRC
chairman Jack So Chak-kwong said: "Given the very significant change in Hong
Kong's economic circumstances over the last few years . . . a rail linkage from
Chek Lap Kok to Tuen Mun . . . would greatly improve accessibility to the airport
by New Territories and cross-border travellers." The
link would provide a short cut between Tuen Mun and the airport without routing
through the Tsing Ma Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge and the congested Tuen Mun highway.
It would also
boost passenger numbers on the MTRC's Airport Express railway and the KCRC's West
Rail by connecting the West Rail terminus at Tuen Mun with the airport railway.
The Tuen Mun-Chek
Lap Kok link is estimated to cost $10 billion compared with $15.3 billion for
Route 10. The
Legislative Council transport panel yesterday refused to give the go-ahead for
the $11.3 billion southern section of Route 10, urging officials to rethink the
project. Most legislators believe there is no urgent need for it. The
alliance underlines the determination of the three organisations to develop an
integrated rail-led transport network between the SAR and the Pearl River Delta
to boost logistics and trade. The
co-operation between the MTRC and KCRC also offers a strong signal that a merger
between the two corporations is imminent. "The
understanding among the three parties has taken into consideration the merger,"
a source familiar with the alliance said yesterday. "The two brothers won't
compete with each other, for example, on the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok link."
The Tuen Mun-airport
link would join with the KCRC's West Rail terminus in Tuen Mun, forming a rail
loop with the MTRC's Airport Express line. It
would also link with the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Western Corridor above the northern
section of Route 10, construction of which was blocked by Legco earlier this year.
Route 10 was
supposed to be a flagship cross-border superhighway network linking western Shenzhen
and Hong Kong Island via northern Lantau, but its relevance has been called into
question by a proposed $15 billion bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.
The MTRC and
the Airport Authority submitted separate letters to the government ahead of yesterday's
Legco panel meeting calling for implementation of the link. "If
required, the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok link could be expanded to accommodate a future
rail link, which gives an obvious advantage over the proposed Tsing Lung Bridge
as the latter offers no opportunity for a combined road-rail link," Hong
Kong Airport Authority member Wong King-keung and Hong Kong University professor
Richard Wong stated in the authority's letter. It
would also form an efficient road network connecting the proposed Shenzhen western
corridor at Deep Bay via the Tuen Mun port expressway running beside the river
trade terminal. Paul
Tang Kwok-wai, deputy secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, said
the department would consider the suggestions on the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok link
and Route 10. However,
he rejected legislators' calls to delay the remaining design work on Route 10
to pave the way for a rethink of the SAR's transport network plans. Holding
up the contractual works, amounting to $20 million, would likely prompt lawsuits.
He said the department planned to seek funding for Route 10 early next year. The
government justified the Route 10 proposal, saying it would relieve traffic congestion
on the Tuen Mun highway, provide an alternative route out to Lantau and meet the
growing traffic on border crossing. Hopewell
Holdings Gordon Wu Ying-sheung and public policy think-tank Civic Exchange also
threw their support behind the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok link yesterday.
13. Five bid for Tseung Kwan O MTR deal
SOPHIA WONG,
SCMP 19 October 2002 Five
leading developers have bid for a HK$6 billion Tseung Kwan O development tendered
by the Mass Transit Railway Corp (MTRC), a response the rail operator says is
better than expected. Sun
Hung Kai Properties, Sino Land and Henderson Land Development submitted solo bids,
while Kowloon Development and parent Polytec Holdings made a joint bid. Cheung
Kong (Holdings) made an offer but did not say if it was acting alone. "The
result exceeds my expectations," MTRC property director Thomas Ho Hang-kwong
said after the tender closed yesterday. He said the response was "satisfactory
considering the total investment for the project". However,
analysts said the bids were unlikely to be generous given the ample land supply
coming on stream, including a HK$3 billion Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp (KCRC)
project in Sha Tin. The
MTRC tender closed a day after the KCRC told developers it would tender the Ho
Tung Lau development for sale next week. Mr
Ho denied the KCRC had timed the release of the Ho Tung Lau project to deflect
developers' attention from the MTRC's Tiu Keng Leng Station tender. He
reiterated that the two railway corporations and the Urban Renewal Authority had
an agreement to regulate land supply through a government-led committee set up
earlier this year. "In
fact the two railway companies are keeping in close contact with the developers
and they knew the tender schedule and scale of the two projects, which will be
released for sale in an orderly fashion," he said. SK
Pang Surveyors managing director Pang Shiu-kee said there were not enough bidders
to gauge whether the market response was good. "The developers can submit
a conditional offer and bargain for better terms to secure their profit margin,"
he said. According
to the tender document, the successful bidder is required to pay HK$770 million
to the MTRC for the construction cost of the project's foundations and a shopping
mall. It must pay the government a HK$1.02 billion land premium for the first
phase of the development and share a minimum of 25 per cent of the future profits
from the development with the MTRC. The
bidder that offers the highest share of profits - provided it conforms with the
other tender requirements - will win. Mr Ho could not say when the winning bidder
would be announced. Sino
Land finance general manager Ringo Chan said the company had confidence in the
market and its bid had not been affected by the KCRC's tender next week. A
total of 16 developers had earlier expressed interest in the 2.6 million square
foot residential and retail development at Tiu Keng Leng Station along the Tseung
Kwan O railway extension. | 
