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1.
Consultation on implementation of Town
Planning (Amendment) Ordinance 2004
2.
Study finds new terminal not needed
3.
Cartoon
4.
The Best of Calvin and Hobbes
1. Consultation on implementation of Town Planning (Amendment) Ordinance
2004
Hong
Kong Government, 5 October 2004
Consultations
have begun between the Planning Department and stakeholders on a
total of eight draft Town Planning Board (TPB) Guidelines on the
new procedures and requirements for the implementation of the Town
Planning (Amendment) Ordinance 2004.
The
Amendment Ordinance, passed by the Legislative Council on July 7,
2004, aims at enhancing the transparency of the planning system
and streamlining the town planning process. The Amendment Ordinance
will come into operation on a date to be appointed by the Secretary
for Housing, Planning and Lands.
"To
facilitate implementation of the Ordinance, new and revised TPB
Guidelines will need to be promulgated," a department spokesman
said.
"The
main subjects covered by the guidelines are the submission/publication
requirements of the new plan-making process and various planning
applications; the owner's consent/notification requirements for
planning applications; submission of further information by applicants/proponents;
request for deferment; renewal of and extension of time-limited
conditions for temporary permission; extension of time for commencement
of development; and the new Class A and Class B amendments.
"A
wide spectrum of stakeholder groups involved or interested in planning
and development will be consulted. Their views are important in
the preparation of these TPB Guidelines, as they are closely involved
in the plan-making process or the planning application system. Feedbacks
from the stakeholder groups will be reported to the Board for consideration
before the guidelines are finalised for promulgation," the
spokesman said.
Consultation
with the stakeholder groups began in late September and will continue
until mid November. A public forum (scheduled for October 19, 2004)
and briefing sessions will be organised. The consultation paper
and the eight draft TPB Guidelines have been uploaded to the Planning
Department's website at http://www.info.gov.hk/planning.
Enquiries on the guidelines may be addressed to Planning Information
and Technical Administration Unit of the Planning Department at
17/F., North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point,
Hong Kong or by email to enquire@pland.gov.hk.
2. Study finds new terminal not needed
Danny
Chung, The Standard 5 October 2004
There
is no need for a new container terminal until 2015 as current capacity
is enough to handle projected throughput growth, according to a
source familiar with the draft of the government-commissioned ``Hong
Kong Port Master Plan 2020'' report.
The study was ordered by the Port Development Council.
The
government had earlier said it will probably go ahead with plans
to build a new container terminal, although it did not set a timetable.
One
of the biggest issues is the question of a container terminal 10
(CT10), which has been the subject of much public debate.
``I
think it's pretty fair to say it's unlikely you need something before
the first half of the next decade,'' said the source.
Hong
Kong's bigger problem was the high cost of inland transport and
cross-boundary trucking, he said.
``And
unless we do something about those, discussing CT10 is pretty academic.
``What can't be denied as you go past Kwai Chung is that we have
spare capacity at the moment which we never had before.''
He
said, for example, that the new ACT terminal at container terminal
8 west had eight gantry cranes not being used.
Industry
watchers said the slower growth in Hong Kong's cargo traffic, partly
due to competition from Chinese ports, also discouraged need for
a new terminal.
Annual
growth in TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) for mainland ports
could reach 7 per cent in the period from 2002 to 2010, compared
to 2.5 per cent in Hong Kong during the same period, local media
reported on Monday, citing the draft report.
``Judging
from current development, CT9 can still handle the traffic, but
if the economy changes, it isn't surprising that CT10 will be built
earlier,'' China Merchant Holdings deputy managing director To Wing-sing
said. China Merchant runs port facilities in Kwai Chung.
``It
is all tied to the Pearl River Delta's development.''
A
government spokeswoman for the Hong Kong Port Development Council,
Yik Wai-king, said on Monday that she would not be able to comment
as the report was a draft which still needed to be revised for a
final report.
She
said the council was currently seeking comments on the draft report's
contents from industry groups like the Logistics Development Council.
In
addition, comments from the new Legislative Council would also have
to be included.
3. Cartoon
SCMP
5 October 2004
4. The Best of Calvin and Hobbes
SCMP
5 October 2004
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