The Buildings Department approved 18 building plans in May, with three on Hong Kong Island, eight in Kowloon and seven in the New Territories.
 
     Of the approved plans, eight were for apartment and apartment/commercial developments, three were for commercial developments, and seven were for community services developments.
 
     In the same month, consent was given for works to start on 13 building projects which, when completed, will provide 60 728 square metres of gross floor area for domestic use involving 1 094 units, and 336 977 sq m of gross floor area for non-domestic use. The department has received notification of commencement of superstructure works for five building projects.
 
     The department also issued 20 occupation permits, with six on Hong Kong Island, three in Kowloon and eleven in the New Territories.
 
     Of the buildings certified for occupation, the gross floor area for domestic use was 122 337 sq m involving 1 347 units, and 174 018 sq m was for non-domestic use.
 
     The declared cost of new buildings completed in May totalled about $8.7 billion.
 
     In addition, six demolition consents involving six building structures were issued.
 
     The department received 4 112 reports about unauthorised building works (UBWs) in May and issued 1 311 removal orders on UBWs.
 
     The full version of the Monthly Digest for May can be viewed on the Buildings Department's homepage (www.bd.gov.hk).

     The Planning Department today (July 24) published a report entitled "Projections of Population Distribution 2019-2028", which presents the latest population distribution projections for 2019-2028.
 
     The population distribution projections have been compiled based on the latest projected total population for Hong Kong released by the Census and Statistics Department in September 2017 and the latest planning information.
 
     The report projects that the populations of the New Territories and Kowloon will increase by 430 200 and 109 600 between 2018 and 2028, reaching 4.36 million and 2.37 million respectively by 2028, while that of Hong Kong Island is expected to decrease gradually from 1.25 million to 1.16 million during the same period.
 
     In terms of share of the total population, the New Territories will rise from 53 per cent to 55 per cent between 2018 and 2028, while that for Kowloon will remain at 30 per cent. The population share of Hong Kong Island will decrease from 17 per cent to 15 per cent during the same period.
 
     The report also presents the projected population of the District Council districts. Kwun Tong District, Yuen Long District and Sha Tin District are projected to be the three most populous districts in 2028, with populations reaching 730 400, 718 000 and 704 700 respectively.
 
     Wong Tai Sin District is projected to be the district with the highest proportion of elderly population aged 65 or above, rising from 19 per cent in 2018 to 28 per cent in 2028.
 
     The report "Projections of Population Distribution 2019-2028", as well as statistical tables containing the detailed results of the projections of population distribution for 2019-2028, have been uploaded to the website of the Planning Department (www.pland.gov.hk). Members of the public can access the report and the tables directly at www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/info_serv/statistic/wgpd19.html.

     The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) today (July 24) announced the performance ratings of the registered lift and escalator contractors for the past 12 months (from July 2018 to June 2019) for public reference.
      
     According to the rating results, 34 registered lift contractors and 26 registered escalator contractors were awarded the Safety Star. Among these contractors, 16 registered lift contractors and 17 registered escalator contractors had not been found non-compliant with the safety and maintenance requirements as reported in the last two consecutive announcements of performance results, and were therefore given the highest rating of five Quality Stars. The EMSD conducted 10 159 performance monitoring inspections of lifts and escalators during the period.
      
     The rating results, conviction records, summaries of warning letters and equipment failure records are available on the EMSD's website (www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd/eng/pps/le_pub_mpr.shtml).
      

Attention TV/radio announcers:

Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals:

     Here is an item of interest to swimmers.

     The Leisure and Cultural Services Department has announced that the lifesaving services at Cafeteria Old Beach in Tuen Mun District resumed today (July 24). The lifesaving services at the beach were suspended earlier due to an insufficient number of lifeguards on duty.

     A boy who went missing in Tin Shui Wai has been located.

     Kwong Cho-hang, aged 12, went missing after he left his residence in Tin Yiu Estate on July 18 morning. His family made a report to Police on July 21.

     The boy was located in Tin Shui Estate last night (July 23).