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1. Ex-buildings chief to be quizzed on land grant

2. Waste charge to increase cost of renovations

3. One tender received for Tuen Mun Station property development project

1. Ex-buildings chief to be quizzed on land grant
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 25 November 2005

Former buildings chief Leung Chin-man will spend his first day of retirement in Legco defending his role in the Grand Promenade saga, which saw Henderson Land reap a multibillion-dollar windfall from a bonus land grant.

The Public Accounts Committee open hearing will be held on Monday afternoon, the first day of Mr Leung's pre-retirement holiday.

The committee yesterday decided to summon another 12 senior officials to testify, including Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Michael Suen Ming-yeung, Director of Buildings Marco Wu Moon-hoi, and Director of Planning Bosco Fung Chee-keung.

Mr Leung was caught up in the controversy when an Audit Commission report last week questioned why he exercised his discretionary power to grant bonus land to Henderson Land for the waterfront residential project in Sai Wan Ho in 2001 despite strong objections from the Lands Department.

The official, now the director of housing, headed the Buildings Department between August 1999 and June 2002.

Mr Suen yesterday denied responsibility since he only took charge of the bureau in July 2002.

Writing in the Hong Kong Economic Journal yesterday, he said the three internal government meetings at which Mr Leung exercised his discretionary power were conducted before he took up the post. Documents related to the land grant were not submitted to the bureau. "Whether the discretionary power was used appropriately will be decided by an independent inquiry panel," he wrote.

Mr Suen also said the government's land policy did not favour property developers. He said any allegations by lawmakers about transfers of interest between the government and developers were "groundless" and "libellous".

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang Chun-wah was the housing secretary at the time.

Last week he said he was unaware of the negotiations between government departments and Henderson about the project.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen has launched an inquiry into how the land - which helped almost double the number of flats on the site and cost the government at least $125 million in lost revenue - was granted to the company.

Henderson paid an additional premium of just $6 million for the 10,700 square metres, but earned an estimated extra $3.23 billion.

Henderson issued a statement on Wednesday describing the audit report as unfair and misleading. A group of architects, planners and surveyors will issue a statement in support of Mr Leung on Monday.

Lo Ka-shui, vice-president of the Real Estate Developers Association, yesterday described the Audit Commission criticism as a "common practice" and "no big deal".

2. Waste charge to increase cost of renovations
CHEUNG CHI-FAI, SCMP 25 November 2005

The cost of flat renovations is expected to rise slightly after next month's introduction of the construction-waste charging scheme aimed at cutting the amount of material dumped in landfills by at least 20 per cent.

The scheme will affect all construction sites, building repairs and flat renovations.

Environmental officials do not expect the impact on renovation costs to be significant, with extra expenditure of about $1,000 for renovating a 1,000 sq ft flat to the "most luxurious" standards.

But the extra revenue for the government might be less than the expected $150 million a year, as thousands of projects will be exempt during the initial period.

From December 1, contractors or flat owners can file applications with the Environmental Protection Department to set up billing accounts. Exemptions will be given to projects sealed before that date provided an application for exemption is lodged with the department before 5pm on December 22.

Assistant director of Environmental Protection Ellen Chan Ying-lung said it was estimated at least 2,000 projects worth more than $1 million and up to 20,000 smaller ones would be exempt.

"While we don't rule out some might flock to get an exemption, we do not believe that large contractors will move their projects forward to avoid the fee," she said.

  3. One tender received for Tuen Mun Station property development project
KCRC Press Release, 25 November 2005

One tender was received for the joint venture property development at West Rail Tuen Mun Station at the close of submission today.

Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation’s (KCRC’s) Director - Property Mr Daniel Lam said, “Tuen Mun project is a relatively large-scale project which involves not only residential blocks but also a sizable shopping mall. It is understandable that some of the shortlisted developers take a more prudent approach.

“The Corporation will carefully examine the tender received and will decide whether to award the joint venture contract or not,” Mr Lam said.

The tender received is from Creston Investments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd.

Occupying an area of about 2.7 hectares, the project has an approximate gross floor area of 145,000 sq. m., comprising 120,000 sq. m. for residential use and 25,000 sq. m. for retail purposes.

The current development proposal comprises seven residential towers housing about 1,924 flats atop a podium containing a retail centre, car park, Park and Ride facilities and a station entrance plus a permanent Public Transport Interchange on the ground floor.

KCRC proposes to develop the site in two phases under one joint venture package.