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1. Lawmakers approve funds to study bridge project

2. Review boosts case for reclamation

3. Hopewell defers $4b hotel plan

4. Nominations open for Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development

1. Lawmakers approve funds to study bridge project
JIMMY CHEUNG, SCMP 6 December 2003

The proposal to build a bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau moved a step forward when lawmakers approved a $58.9 million study yesterday.

The Legco Finance Committee voted to endorse funding for the preliminary investigation and design of the Hong Kong section and the North Lantau Highway connection.

The proposed study was earlier debated by the Legco public works subcommittee and secured initial blessing from lawmakers.

According to the government, the investigation study and the conceptual and preliminary design works for the project will begin this month and be finished by October.

Officials said the study would examine the bridge alignment, the general layout, land requirement and its environmental impact.

Papers tabled to lawmakers showed the site investigation study would cost $26 million, while consultancy fees would be $29.5 million. A further $4 million has been set aside as contingency.

In July, a joint study by the National Development and Reform Commission and the Hong Kong government concluded that a land transport link between Hong Kong and the western Pearl River Delta would boost tourism, trade and logistics in the region.

The State Council later gave approval for the governments of Macau, Hong Kong and Zhuhai to proceed with preparatory work.

2. Review boosts case for reclamation
CHLOE LAI, SCMP 6 December 2003

An internal government review has concluded that the Central reclamation satisfies the three tests laid down in a High Court judgment on the need for such projects.

A spokesman for the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau yesterday said the review had found there was a compelling, overriding and present need for the project, that there was no viable alternative and that it would cause minimum impairment to the harbour.

The tests were laid down by the High Court in July in a case brought by the Society for the Protection of the Harbour over the Wan Chai reclamation. The project was halted after the court held that it failed the judgment's three tests.

But the Town Planning Board is appealing against the ruling, and a Court of Final Appeal hearing is scheduled for next week.

The ruling does not cover the adjoining Central reclamation, but the government - under public pressure - also decided to halt work on that project.

Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung said yesterday that although the internal review justified the urgency and necessity to press ahead with the Central reclamation, work would not resume until the appeal hearing.

3. Hopewell defers $4b hotel plan
Raymond Wang, The Standard 6 December 2003

Hopewell Holdings will defer submitting its final proposal for the HK$4-billion mega hotel project to the Town Planning Board, according to chairman Gordon Wu.

Wu said the deferral would give Hopewell more time to conduct consultations, adding he was confident the Wan Chai project would gain support from the public. ``We will submit the proposal at the end of February next year,'' he said.

He said he believed the parents of students at nearby St Francis Canossian College, with whom the company held a meeting on Thursday, would back the project.

Wu said last week that the project, adjacent to the company's headquarters, would cost Hopewell more than HK$4 billion. This included everything from the purchase of land, to development costs and replanting of trees.

A revised blueprint for the project was submitted to the Town Planning Board at the end of October and a decision is expected by the middle of this month.

Located between Queen's Road East and Kennedy Road, the project consists of two hotels in an L-shape, providing more than 2,000 rooms, with the podium space to be earmarked for commercial use, such as cinemas and a shopping mall.

4. Nominations open for Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development
Hong Kong Government, 6 December 2003

Do you find the beautiful garden in your private housing estate impressive? Do you find the landscape gardening around your office building attractive? Do these landscapes help you escape from the hustle and bustle of this concrete jungle?

To promote greening in the community and encourage private developers and private bodies to make greater efforts to beautify the environment, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has established the Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development.

The competition is co-organised by the Home Affairs Department, the Buildings Department, the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects, the Institute of Horticulture, the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Professional Green Building Council and the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies.

The award will be exclusively presented to local private residential property or other types of private property. All individuals, private developers and private bodies in Hong Kong are eligible to nominate properties for the award.

Nominations in the four categories are open until January 15, 2004. There is no entry fee.

The categories are:

(1) High-density Residential Property (more than 6 storeys)

Gold Award - the Champion of the Category

Landscape Design Award

Horticultural Maintenance Award

Greening Effect Award

Special Feature Award

(2) Low-density Residential Property (6 storeys or less)

Gold Award - the Champion of the Category

Landscape Design Award

Horticultural Maintenance Award

Greening Effect Award

Special Feature Award

(3) Non-residential Property

Gold Award - the Champion of the Category

Landscape Design Award

Horticultural Maintenance Award

Greening Effect Award

Special Feature Award

(4) Conceptual Design and Research Analysis

The winners in each category will receive trophies. Winning entries will be exhibited.

Completed nomination forms together with all necessary documents should be sent to the Secretary, Best Landscape Award for Private Property Development, c/o Green Campaign Section, Leisure and Cultural Services Department, 11/F, Leisure and Cultural Services Headquarters, 1-3 Pai Tau Street, Sha Tin, Hong Kong by January 15, 2004 at the latest.

Nomination forms and the competition prospectus are available at all LCSD District Leisure Services Offices or at the LCSD website http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/Leisure/LP/gc/blappd.htm.

For enquiries, please call 2601 8688.