Draft Tseung Kwan O Outline Zoning Plan approved

     The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Tseung Kwan O Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).

     "The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide development and redevelopment in the Tseung Kwan O area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (October 26).

     The planning scheme area, covering about 1 718 hectares, is located at the southern part of Sai Kung District. It is bounded by the Clear Water Bay Peninsula to the east, Junk Bay to the south, the Lam Tin and Sau Mau Ping areas to the west, and Tseng Lan Shue and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to the north.

     Two sites with a total area of 38.72 hectares are zoned "Comprehensive Development Area". The site in Area 86 is intended for comprehensive development including an MTR depot, an MTR station, associated property development and supporting community facilities. Another site which covers the existing film studio in Area 92 is intended for comprehensive redevelopment for low-density residential use.

     About 20.07 hectares of land, including sites in the town centre and district centres where accessibility is enhanced by the MTR Tseung Kwan O Extension, are zoned "Commercial/Residential". 

     About 152.23 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group A)" for high-density residential developments, while a further 4.49 hectares are zoned "Residential (Group B)" for medium-density housing developments and 0.66 hectares are zoned "Residential (Group C)" for low-rise residential developments. The "Residential (Group E)" zone, with an area of about 4 hectares, is intended to phase out existing industrial uses through redevelopment (or conversion) for residential use on application to the Board.

     About 22.03 hectares of land are zoned "Village Type Development" to reflect existing recognised and other villages, and to provide land considered suitable for village expansion and reprovisioning of village houses affected by government projects.

     A total of 142.56 hectares of land are zoned "Government, Institution or Community" to provide facilities serving the needs of the local residents and/or a wider district, region or the territory. About 190.8 hectares of land are zoned "Open Space" and a further 65.85 hectares are zoned "Recreation" for active and/or passive recreational and tourism/eco-tourism uses.

     The "Other Specified Uses" zones, with a total area of about 225.69 hectares, are allocated for specific uses including a waterfront site reserved for water sports and recreational facilities, a pair of finger piers for the berthing of recreational/pleasure vessels and kaidos, commercial/residential developments with public transport interchange, the Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate, the deep-waterfront industry, a proposed desalination plant, a bus depot, an explosives store, petrol filling stations, the landing steps, the sewage treatment works, a cemetery, an underground desilting compound, and the proposed ventilation building for the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel.

     About 753.06 hectares of land are zoned "Green Belt" to define the limits of urban and sub-urban development areas by natural features and to contain urban sprawl as well as to provide passive recreational outlets.

     The approved Tseung Kwan O OZP No. S/TKO/26 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office and the Sai Kung District Office.

     Copies of the approved OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).




Draft Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen Outline Zoning Plan approved

     The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
      
     "The approved OZP indicates the broad land use zonings and major road network for the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area (NDA) and Ha Tsuen area so that development and redevelopment of land in the area can be put under statutory planning control. It also provides the planning framework for preparing more detailed non-statutory plans which form the basis for public works planning and site reservation for various uses," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (October 26).
      
     The Hung Shui Kiu NDA is an important component in the overall development strategy to provide housing land for Hong Kong in the medium to long term. The NDA will be one of the next-generation Hong Kong new towns and will be developed as a balanced and socially integrated community with an emphasis on environmentally friendly design. Upon full development, the Hung Shui Kiu NDA will accommodate a total population of about 218 000 including a new population of 176 000, and will provide about 150 000 employment opportunities. The NDA is positioned to become the regional economic and civic hub for the whole North West New Territories region.
      
     The planning scheme area, covering about 707 hectares, is bounded by the Tin Shui Wai New Town to the east, Castle Peak Road to the south, the knolls of Yuen Tau Shan to the west and the Lau Fau Shan Road/hill slope along Deep Bay Road to the north.
      
     About 24.12 hectares of land are zoned "Commercial" for commercial developments, functioning as territorial business/financial centre and regional or district commercial/shopping centre.
      
     About 3.65 hectares of land to the south of MTR Tin Shui Wai Station are zoned "Comprehensive Development Area", which is intended for comprehensive development of the area for residential use with provision of commercial, open space and other supporting facilities.
      
     About 69.44 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group A)" ("R(A)") for high-density residential development. The "R(A)" zone includes sites for private housing, public rental housing or subsidised sale flat developments. About 18.1 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group B)", which is primarily intended for medium-density residential developments. About 0.4 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group C)", which is primarily intended for low-rise and low-density residential developments.
      
     About 118.08 hectares of land are zoned "Village Type Development" ("V"), which is to designate existing recognised villages and areas of land considered suitable for village expansion. Three sites to the north of Tsing Chuen Wai and the north of Fung Kong Tsuen have been designated as "V(1)" for reprovisioning of the village houses under the Village Removal Terms due to the NDA development.
      
     About 15.07 hectares of land are zoned "Industrial", which is intended primarily for general industrial uses to ensure an adequate supply of industrial floor space to meet demand from production-oriented industries.
      
     About 68.52 hectares of land are zoned "Government, Institution or Community" ("G/IC") primarily for provision of G/IC facilities serving the needs of local residents and/or the community at wider district, regional or territorial levels.
      
     About 99.11 hectares of land are zoned "Open Space" for the provision of outdoor open-air public space for active and/or passive recreational uses.
      
     About 104.91 hectares of land are zoned "Other Specified Uses" to designate land for specific uses, including "Mixed Use" primarily for high-density residential and commercial development; "Enterprise and Technology Park" to provide development space for accommodating a variety of innovative and technology uses including research centres, testing and certification, data centres, modern industries and other related businesses and non-polluting industrial uses; "Logistics Facility"; "Port Back-up, Storage and Workshop Uses"; and "Parking and Operational Facilities for Environmentally Friendly Transport Services".
      
     About 55.92 hectares of land are zoned "Green Belt", which is intended primarily for defining the limits of urban and sub-urban development areas by natural features and to contain urban sprawl as well as to provide passive recreational outlets.
      
     The approved Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen OZP No. S/HSK/2 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board, the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin, the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long West District Planning Office and the respective District Offices and Rural Committees.
      
     Copies of the approved OZP are available for sale at the Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).




Draft Ping Shan Outline Zoning Plan approved

     â€‹The Chief Executive in Council has approved the draft Ping Shan Outline Zoning Plan (OZP).
      
     "The approved OZP provides a statutory land use planning framework to guide the development and redevelopment within the Ping Shan area," a spokesman for the Town Planning Board said today (October 26).
      
     The planning scheme area covers about 355.82 hectares of land in the western part of the North West New Territories. It is bounded by the Tin Shui Wai New Town and the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area in the west, Castle Peak Road in the south, Yuen Long New Town in the east and the fish ponds in Lau Fau Shan and Tsim Bei Tsui in the north.
      
     Five sites with a total area of about 25.09 hectares are zoned "Comprehensive Development Area" for comprehensive development/redevelopment of the area for residential use with commercial, open space and other supporting facilities. 
      
      About 6.91 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group A)" for high-density residential developments. About 3.91 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group B)" for suburban medium-density residential developments. About 4.54 hectares of land are zoned "Residential (Group E)" primarily for phasing out existing industrial uses through redevelopment for residential use.
      
     About 86.08 hectares of land are zoned "Village Type Development" to reflect existing recognised and other villages and provide land suitable for village expansion and reprovisioning of village houses affected by government projects.
      
     About 19.32 hectares of land are zoned "Open Storage" to cater for the demand for open storage uses and to regularise the existing open storage uses in the area.
      
     To serve the needs of the local residents and/or a wider district, region or the territory, about 12.73 hectares of land are zoned "Government, Institution or Community" to provide a wide range of government, institution or community facilities.
      
     About 3.46 hectares of land are zoned "Open Space" for outdoor open-air public space for active and/or passive recreational uses, while 37.17 hectares of land are zoned "Recreation" for recreational developments for the use of the general public.
      
     About 61.24 hectares of land are zoned "Green Belt" to define the limits of urban and suburban development areas and to provide passive recreational outlets. About 70.23 hectares of land are zoned "Conservation Area" to protect and retain the existing natural landscape, ecological or topographical features of the area.
      
     About 1.68 hectares of land are zoned "Other Specified Uses" to facilitate provision of complementary heritage and cultural tourism related facilities or uses.
      
     The approved Ping Shan OZP No. S/YL-PS/18 is now available for public inspection during office hours at the Secretariat of the Board; the Planning Enquiry Counters of the Planning Department in North Point and Sha Tin; the Tuen Mun and Yuen Long West District Planning Office; the Yuen Long District Office and the Ping Shan Rural Committee.
      
     Copies of the approved OZP are available for sale at Map Publications Centres in North Point and Yau Ma Tei. The electronic version of the plan can be viewed at the Board's website (www.info.gov.hk/tpb).




HKMA designates nine CNH Primary Liquidity Providers

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:

     The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today (October 26) that it has designated the following nine authorized institutions as Primary Liquidity Providers (PLPs) for offshore renminbi (RMB) market in Hong Kong (i.e. CNH market) for another term of two years with effect from October 27, following the expiry of their current 2-year term of designation.
 
Agricultural Bank of China Limited
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited
Bank of Communications Co., Ltd.
BNP Paribas
China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited
Citibank, N.A.
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, The
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited
Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited

     The HKMA has reviewed the performance of these nine PLPs in the past two years, and considers that they are all active participants in the CNH market, and have been effectively providing CNH funding and making market for CNH instruments, as well as using the Hong Kong platform as a global hub for offshore RMB business. The HKMA will continue to provide each of the PLPs with a dedicated RMB repo facility of RMB2 billion, so as to facilitate their liquidity management when they carry out market-making activities and provide liquidity in the CNH market. The HKMA will also continue to regularly review the experience in operating the scheme.




Effective Exchange Rate Index

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, October 26, 2018 is 105.9 (up 0.1 against yesterday's index).